It's Gonna Be Complicated
by GhostWhispererFangirl
Summary: The complicated life of Mackenzie Andrea Clancy with Scott O'Neill. Spin-Off from Their Little Family. Collab with Meoswer Clancy. AU
1. Chapter 1: GhostWhispererFangirl

**A/N: This is my second spin-off to Their Little Family. I was finally getting back into writing a story line for Mackenzie and realized that she really had a very interesting life that I'd really only hinted at before.**

 **For reference, the big Mackenzie chapters are 39, 44, 45, 46, 51 and 116. But since I'll be covering all of that here, you don't have to read them if you'd rather be surprised.** **And then I was talking with Meowser Clancy and she got way too into it, so we just had to make it a collab :) Girl power!**

 **For every big Mackenzie chapter comes a Scott chapter… enjoy!**

* * *

Scott hated parties, they seemed unnecessary.

Maybe it's his antisocial side showing, or that he continues to get himself stuck into conversations he isn't interested in.

Well maybe he should show attention, he was supposed to be listening to Ned complain about how much he hates wearing ties.

"I feel the same man," he laughed. "Ties are an unnecessary form of torture for guys."

"Not always," Ned shoved his hands in his pockets. "The last time I wore a tie it somehow ended up restricting Katie from touching me in a very sexy way."

"You and Katie always keep thing fresh don't you?" He asked looking over at her, a beautiful blonde standing next to her. "Who's that blonde next to Katie?"

"When you have a kid, you gotta keep it fresh." Ned peeked over his shoulder. "She does look hot in that dress and I'm most definitely gonna strip that off her tonight. Oh and that's Mackenzie, one of Katie's many little sisters."

She's beautiful and the dress she wore was very feminine.

It reminded him of a period drama straight from the eighties. The color is a deep red, like a deep red that brings images of wine and roses to his mind, of intoxicating drinks and smells. The black lace trimmings flowed around the cascading layers of her skirt. It is cinched at the waist showing her desirable figure.

"Scotty!" The sharp yell from Katie and Ned's son pulled his eyes away from the delectable hips that are Mackenzie's.

"Ash, hey!" He picked the little kid up and spun him around. "How you been kiddo?"

"My mommy and auntie are talking about you," Asher whispered in his ear.

"They are?" He asked. "What about?"

"Kenzie thinks you're cute like mommy thinks my daddy is." Asher replied.

"Your mommy thinks I'm cute?" Ned joked and tickled his son's sides.

"Mommy loves you daddy!" Asher giggled.

"I know she does," Ned laughed. "I love her too."

"So Mackenzie likes me huh?" He asked.

"I think so?" Asher muttered.

"Hey Ned! Scott! Get over here!" Katie called and he gulped.

This was more than he'd asked for. He'd be closer to her, within an arm's reach.

He caught Mackenzie's eye and he smiled, flashing only one of his dimples this time. She grinned in return and he stood before her.

He could smell her perfume, some kind of flowers. Was it Gardenia? He knew it wasn't Katie's. She always smelled like something out of a bakery, vanilla, he believed.

"I figured that everyone in the wedding party should get to know each other," Katie said with a straight face.

"Mommy!" Asher flew into his mother's arms and she grabbed a hold of him.

"Hey bud," Katie said kissing his cheek.

"So Scott, I'd like you to meet Katie's little sister, Mackenzie. Mackenzie, this is my new partner Scott." Ned said.

He extended his hand towards her, and hoped she wouldn't be shy.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Mackenzie," he said. "I've heard quite a bit about you. I just never knew your name until now."

He hoped she was one of those women who liked accents, he'd had his fair share of women who cringed at the Brooklyn side of his voice.

She slipped her hand into his and her cheeks blushed a light pink when his fingers wrapped around hers. He brought her hand to his mouth, pressing a delicate kiss there.

"I'm sure Aaron or Ned have all sorts of stories for you about me," she said softly. "But you should also know that I have just as many stories about them both. If you ever want any good material to tease either one of them with, just come to me."

"Oh really?" Ned demanded. "What could you possibly have on me?"

"Let's see..." Mackenzie held up one finger. "There was that time that I was babysitting Asher and you and Katie came home completely trashed and you tripped going up the stairs and your pants fell down. There was that time when you locked yourself out of the house when I was having a sleepover with Katie and tried to get in through an open window, but we thought you were a burglar so we called the police on you. There was also the time that—"

"Okay, I think that's enough!" Ned exclaimed.

He couldn't leave her eyes, a delicate shade of blue that shined in the light. Her hand was so soft and warm against his.

"Why are you guys still holding hands?" Ned asked.

They immediately let go of each other and he looked over at him, nudging his side roughly.

He'd get him back for that one day. A day when he'd regret it, but before he could even say anything, Ned pushed him towards the other end of the room.

He even get to say goodbye before he was towed across the room.

"What the hell man?" He muttered and pushed Ned off of him. "I was so close to asking her to dance."

"It's all about stealth. Don't let her know you're swooning, not yet at least." Ned reassured him. "She liked you. Don't worry."

"How did that work out with you and Katie?" He scoffed.

"Pretty good, she's my wife." Ned laughed. "We have a child and are talking about having another one soon."

"You told me a whole other story about how she got with someone else first." He explained. "I don't want her to get with someone else. I don't want to lose the one chance I have."

He looked over at her, talking to a little girl with raven colored hair, and realized that she was looking in return. He smiled directly at her, and she grinned back.

"See, don't worry." Ned touched his shoulder. "Now excuse me. I'm gonna go find Katie and get out of this tie."

* * *

Later on, he found her again, bored and looking at her phone while watching Asher.

"Katie and Ned not back yet?" he asked sliding into the seat next to her, loosening his tie a little.

"No," she smiled at him and set down her phone. "They're never quick about what they do."

"Well maybe we could get Asher to stay put with a cool game on my phone," he said giving the boy his phone with a smile. "You can play that driving game bud."

"Thank you," Asher said pressing on the app happily. "I won't move from this spot."

"Thanks wing man," he said standing up. "May I have this dance?"

He took her hand that she extended to him and led her on the dance floor. The touch of his hand burned into her skin; her heart raced, she was dizzy from his touch. Her scent engulfed him and took control of his senses.

He pulled her to him, her body fit with his perfectly.

Scott had his left hand firmly but gently placed on Mackenzie's hip. She securely wrapped her arms around him with her right hand locked with his.

He gazed upon her eyes, smiling at the younger woman.

The rhythm of their bodies that danced slowly with the elegant music was passionate. He twirled her around, dipping her as he leaned closer to her. Staring at the beauty before him, his breathing became shallow and his heart suddenly felt heavy inside his chest.

With their bodies nearly touching one another's and their faces so close to each other's, he had to hold something back as her breasts jumped with each breath she took. Locking eyes, they were unable to keep away from each other. There was definitely something between them.

He took in a deep breath as he pulled Mackenzie back up into his arms.

Their bodies molded together, every move he made was attached to her. He could feel the beat of her heart, her soft breath on his neck, her softness all over him. The heat of his hands and body contained her, she no longer had control of her body or her mind and had never before experienced anything like this. Their magic grew with each sway and touch and they'd hardly ever said a word to each other, but the love was already there, the passion already explosive.

No single doubt existed.

They were made to love each other, and here they were dancing, together.

* * *

The music soon changed and they never left the dance floor, Mackenzie continued to fall harder for this mystery man as her sister and brother in-law emerged, completely rumpled and barely even hiding it.

Her dress was very wrinkled and barely covering her knees anymore, neckline moved majorly to the left and a bright mark between both her breasts, pieces of hair were spilling from it's place and her lipstick was gone. On the other hand, Ned's tie was long gone, collar up and lipstick stained, shirt untucked from his pants.

"Is it just me or has Katie's neckline shifted?" Melinda asked Jim, leaning on her husband's arm.

"I think everything has," Jim snorted as his daughter and Ned walked back in, barely even hiding why they left. Or if they were, they'd done a really bad job at it. "Plus they both have very prominent fresh love bites."

"And Ned's collar," she tutted. "We did better than that, didn't we?"

"Not sure. Shall we, uh, test it out?" He laughed.

"Maybe later," she playfully pulled on his tie. "I'm enjoying my seat right now."

"You can still enjoy your seat," he whispered as his hand creeped underneath, sliding up hem of her dress to her thighs.

"Jim," she warned.

"Shh," he pressed a finger to her lips and kissed her neck.

Katie and Ned slipped into seats next to their parents.

"Nice tie Ned," she said and he looked down, standing up.

"Crap. I left the tie," he said running from the room.

"Don't judge. You've done worse," Katie laughed. "Plus you and Delia have been bugging for another grandbaby."

"A Grandbaby!" She gasped as Jim's fingers brushed against her panties, resituating herself in the chair.

"We have a doctor's appointment next week, but yeah we're trying." Katie smiled. "It's not that exciting besides the actual making and being pregnant part."

"I'm always open to babysitting, you know that." She said softly.

Jim's fingers slipped her panties out of the way and one finger inside her.

She had to keep the conversation going or their daughter would figure them out.

Jim moved so slowly as to not bring attention to them, but to bringing warmth to her face and thighs. She'd have to steal him away later, or wait until home because there was no way she could let him finish her without letting at least a whimper out.

"Who's Kenz dancing with?" Her voice came out louder than expected and Katie shifted in her seat slightly, finally fixing her neckline. "I think I've seen him before with Aaron, but I can't remember."

"He's a good friend of Aaron's, his best man actually, and Ned's partner. His name is Scott, they have a thing for each other. Love at first sight or something, not that I can judge with how badly I fell for Ned when I was a preteen." Katie explained and ran her fingers through Asher's hair, watching the game he was playing on Scott's phone. "Left baby, go left."

"I won!" Asher said gleefully and Katie kissed his head.

"I know you did, good job." Katie laughed and kissed his head. "Did Scotty bribe you with his phone so he could steal Kenzie from you?"

"Yup!" He giggled and pressed play again.

Katie looked at her mom, who held her wine glass a little tighter as her father leaned in to kiss her neck.

"What I miss?" Ned slid into the chair next to her and she kissed him.

"Scott bribed Ash with his phone to steal Mack, and those two are gross and think I don't know what they're doing." She explained as Jim straightened and licked his fingers.

"So you two can, but we can't?" Jim laughed as Ned nigh-fived him.

"I'm gonna go dance with Ash," Kate said adjusting her dress as she stood up. "Come on baby."

Ash set the phone down and ran out to the floor with her, dancing to the upbeat music happily, joining Lana, Emma, Mackenzie and Scott's little circle. Ned joined quickly after fixing his shirt, leaving Melinda and Jim to watch, enjoying their bliss before sneaking off to have their private time together.


	2. Chapter 2: Meowser Clancy

**A/N: All I can say is, GhostWhispererFangirl legit wrote one chapter featuring Scott and I swear I was already half in love with him. Writing this chapter just made me love him more.**

* * *

It was funny how time's passage could change, well, everything.

Scott walked up the stairs in his apartment complex, pulling his tie from his neck. He had to see Mackenzie Clancy again, that was a given. But how?

* * *

As it turned out, Katie and Ned had the same idea he did. They invited him for dinner with a surprise guest who turned out to be Mackenzie.

The two spent the whole meal stealing glances at each other and then Katie and Ned made them wash the dishes while they went out to buy ice cream for dessert.

Scott put the dishes in the soapy water, washing while Mackenzie dried. "So," he began. "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to see you, too," Mackenzie said. "I, uh, guess we'll see each other at the wedding too, but that's still a few months off."

"Yes," Scott said. "You look nice tonight." He wasn't sure what made him say that, but maybe it was because it was true. The night was hot; she wore cutoffs and her blonde hair was in a thick braid. She had amazing hair.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at him.

More silence, and then Scott was done, drying his hands off, wondering why Katie and Ned weren't back yet.

"I have a feeling they're getting more sugar than just ice cream," Mackenzie scoffed, looking at the clock. "God, those two. If I didn't love them so much, they'd make me sick."

"They make me sick anyway," Scott joked, and then they were suddenly standing closer together.

The ceiling fan above them was quickly turning, blowing air on them. Mackenzie blinked up at him, and he felt an incredible draw to her. Like this moment...was all they had. The Banks would be back soon.

He leaned forward, cupped his hand on her neck and kissed her. It was slow and easy. Mackenzie returned the motion immediately, but it stayed just a kiss, no more and definitely no less, until Scott pulled away, hearing a car in the driveway.

Mackenzie looked up at him, a smile on her face. "I don't think you have my number yet," she said. "How are we supposed to go on a date if you don't?"

Feeling surprisingly bold, Scott shrugged. "You could try calling me," he said.

"Men," Mackenzie scoffed and opened the door for her sister.

* * *

Somehow, some way, they ended up going to an Italian restaurant on their first date. Scott ordered spaghetti and Mackenzie got gnocchi, and they had a nice, quiet date. Scott talked to her more than he would with other girls, but he definitely didn't talk as much as she did.

She was overflowing with hilarious stories about Ned and Katie; about growing up a Clancy and what that meant for her.

He noticed that, halfway through the meal, she got distracted, staring over his shoulder at something he couldn't see, changing her words as though she was talking to someone else, but then it was gone and she was back to normal.

"I don't usually talk this much," she said on the way home. "You're bringing me out of my shell. I...I feel like I can talk to you. Which is rare."

"I don't mind it," he said, smiling down at her. "It's nice to just sit back and listen sometimes."

She started to reply, but then there was a frown on her face. "What are you still doing here?" She burst out, and he startled.

"Me?" He asked, looking around himself.

"No, that...mosquito," she said. "I swear, this mosquito followed me all the way home from Lento's."

Her cheeks were red; it wasn't a mosquito.

They'd reached the steps to her parents' house, and Scott smiled at her again. "This was a good time," he said.

"We should do it again," Mackenzie smiled, and then she was the one to lean in, standing two steps above him, easily his height now. The kiss went like fire from his lips to his veins and he placed his hands on her shoulders, bringing her closer, melding their lips together, deepening the kiss, until he'd pulled the tiniest gasp from her mouth, something that only made him want her more.

"Ahem," came the sound of Jim Clancy clearing his throat.

Scott and Mackenzie bolted away from each other like lightning.

"Scott," Jim greeted. "Kenz. Nice night, was it?"

"Very nice night," Mackenzie replied.

"It's getting kind of late though," Jim said easily. "Sleep well, Scott."

Scott saw Mackenzie roll her eyes, but she patted Scott on the shoulder. "Call me," she whispered. "It was a good date. Thank you."

He walked away in a bit of a daze, dancing on air all the way home.

* * *

They didn't have a second date.

There was a hostage situation at the Grandview First National Bank. Scott and Ned were nearby and ended up on the scene, waiting for a hostage negotiator to arrive.

"I can't stand this," Scott said. "We have to go in soon."

"We have to wait," Ned growled at him, pulling him back.

"I know the people in there," Scott said, anguish in his voice. "I went to school with Hadley and Pete. They're good people."

"I know they are," Ned said, holding him back. "But we have to wait."

The robber was mentally unstable; he started to waver about what he wanted in exchange for the people's lives.

There was no time to wait any longer. A team was assembled to go inside and Scott followed Ned, heartsick, gun out, praying to god that they wouldn't lose anyone by doing this.

They snuck in the back; the robber was being distracted by their makeshift hostage negotiator and they were ready; they were going to take him down.

And then everything happened at once.

Scott saw Hadley and she was lying on the ground, face bloody. They hadn't known that she'd been injured. She was six months pregnant.

He bit back a curse; the robber turned around and saw them. "You said you wouldn't come in!" He screamed at them, turning his gun on them. Scott dived forward, ready to do anything and everything to cover his partner and Hadley, but Ned pulled him back, knocking him to the ground.

He could never remember quite what happened then.

All he knew was that Ned ended up with a bullet in the leg and Hadley died.

Mackenzie called. She called and called and called.

Scott didn't know how to speak to her again. He didn't know how to speak to anyone. He closed himself off and threw himself back into work just as soon as he passed the psych evaluation.

His life was never the same. Ned and Katie tried, so hard, to bring him back to them. But he didn't know how to let them.

He couldn't look at Ned, knowing that the bullet in his leg was his fault. His fault for being an idiot rookie. Ned forgave him, and maybe that was the hardest to swallow. Who knew what could happen with a simple gunshot wound? He knew that people could be fine and then just suffer a pulmonary embolism and be gone, just like that. Anything could go wrong and Ned was just acting like it was no big deal, trying to protect Scott as always even though that was the reason everything was wrong in the first place.

It was hard enough facing Ned as his partner. He couldn't face Katie, the woman Ned almost hadn't been able to go home to. And he definitely couldn't face Mackenzie. Because he knew that being with her, he'd eventually just open up, tell her everything. And he couldn't even imagine doing that.

Mackenzie got busy with school; she stopped calling. She got a boyfriend; Chase, and Scott forced himself to be happy for her.

He started going to dinner at the Banks' house again. Mackenzie was never again a guest.

Years passed. Whole years. Mackenzie graduated; became a TA to make some money before she went to med school to become a nurse.

Life was going really, really well for her. She was in a healthy relationship and she was on the fast track to becoming the best nurse Grandview had ever seen.

And then one night changed _everything._

* * *

He's working dispatch when he gets the call, about a two car collision over by the tree line. He's directing squad cars and listening to the calls when he catches something on the radio from one of the ambulances, and his heart freezes, and he grabs the radio and turns it up as loud as it can go.

"We're bringing in two adults, male and female, married couple. They're Ned and Katherine Banks. Ned has superficial cuts and Katie has a broken tibia and femur; she has a head wound and probably a concussion. And she's pregnant. Two of Clancy's other daughters were also involved in the crash."

Scott's heart stilled even more.

"Emma needs surgery on her hand; the Chief is doing that himself. And Mackenzie was thrown from the car, not sure about her, but we need people waiting there for us. She's pregnant too."

Scott wasn't sure which stopped his heart most thoroughly...that the Banks were in critical condition and oh, god, he knew that they were having trouble conceiving, and he really hoped that she didn't lose the baby; or that more of Jim's daughters had been involved and fucking hell he couldn't imagine what the man must be feeling right now, let alone Melinda; or that Emma's hand was injured and she's a _musician_ and this could ruin her life...or that Mackenzie was there too. Thrown from the car.

Pregnant.

He hadn't realized that things with Chase were _that_ serious. Judging from hearsay, he thought they'd called it off, or were taking a break.

 _Pregnant._

He stood up, needing to get out of there, needing to get down to the hospital. There is nothing that can stop him. LeTrai startles, trying to stop him, but Scott manages to get the words out; it's a struggle.

"Ned and Katie were in a car accident," he said, and LeTrai's eyes widen. "It sounds bad. Jim's other daughters Emma and Mackenzie were also involved, I need to get down to the hospital."

Ned, and Katie, were beloved on the force. Ned was the kind of guy who made everyone on the force proud that he was one of them, and Katie was a very familiar face around the station, the kind of wife that made every cop want to get married.

"I'll take over here," LeTrai said immediately. Everyone knew Melinda too, as the antiques store owner with the biggest heart in town, who had...a strange ability to help those who were grieving. Scott wasn't quite sure what was up with that, but everyone had a story about Melinda. And Jim had been a surgeon at Rockland Memorial Hospital for, well, forever.

The whole town would come around the Clancys in this moment, Scott hoped, knew, and he charged past LeTrai.

"Hey, man, you should have someone else drive, there's no way you can keep a level head right now," LeTrai warned, jogging after Scott.

"You need to stay with the radio," Scott shot back, knowing that he'd get in trouble for this later and unable to bring himself to care.

He had to get over there and he didn't trust anyone else to drive fast enough.

"Can I use my emergency lights, Trai?" Scott called back. "Because that is all I want to know."

Hesitation.

"Yes," LeTrai said, giving in.

Scott didn't look back once, and he burned rubber, throwing the siren on and running every light, flooring it, reaching the hospital just after an ambulance pulled in.

He left the door open, running over. Jim was jumping out, and Emma was on the stretcher.

"Scott!" Jim gasped. "Katie and Ned are have already been brought, and Mel and Mack are in the next one, can you wait for them?"

"Yes," Scott said immediately, and there's the third ambulance, screaming into the parking lot.

Jim and Emma are already gone, disappeared inside, adrenaline changing the whole game.

Scott paced back and forth until the ambulance screamed to a halt in front of him, and the doors were flung open. He was shoved out of the way by receiving orderlies, and Melinda was there, and she saw him and her legs seemed to give out. He reached her just as she swayed to the side and caught her before she fell, and together the two of them watched as Mackenzie was brought inside.

"It's too real," Melinda said, voice raw. "Thank god you're here, Scott, I need someone to lean on."

"You've got me," he said, voice soft. He's probably never spoken more than two words at a time to Melinda Clancy, but that all changes tonight. She knows him as Ned's partner, as someone, perhaps, that she'd once hoped for her second daughter to marry. He's always admired her.

They wait together forever, exchanging hopes and fears as the night wears on. Melinda is so frightened, and at more than point he has to hold her up again, support her through this night before Aaron Clancy runs in, Delia Banks, a whole support system.

And then Scott's just Scott again. On the outskirts. But as long as Mackenzie makes it through the night...as long as Emma can play again...as long as Katie and Ned are fine and don't lose the baby...he doesn't care what he is.


	3. Chapter 3: GhostWhispererFangirl

**A/N: GhostWhispererFangirl here! I'm ready to shake things up. Enjoy :) xx Mariah**

* * *

It had been hours since anyone had heard anything.

Katie, Emma and Mackenzie were all in surgery, Ned was being stitched up in the ER.

Melinda couldn't sit still, she paced the halls as her son and looked on worried about his siblings.

Aaron's wife sat next to him, head on his shoulder resting her eyes. They'd rushed home from their vacation, their son asleep against Aaron's chest.

Tim, Delia's husband, held Delia's hand reassuring her that Ned would be fine, that Katie would be okay so would the baby.

No one had been able to get ahold of Chase. Shouldn't he be worried about his girlfriend? His pregnant girlfriend?

"I'm gonna go see if there's any news," Melinda said to the group and walked past Scott. "I'm gonna call Lana and see how Asher and Willow are doing. Can you keep an eye on everyone?"

"Of course," Scott reassured her and smiled at her before sitting back down.

She walked over to the nurse's station and he looked down at his phone. He knew that after the accident Lana went to take over for the babysitter and watching her niece and nephew, both too young to worry about their parents. That she'd spend the night with them if she had too, which in this case it was necessary.

The double doors opened to reveal Chase Jordan.

He only knew that because luckily his name was written on his work uniform.

The red haired and six foot four man graced all of their presence dressed in a Grandview Electric jumper.

"Chase," Aaron stood, son asleep in his arms and greeted him. "We don't know much."

"What do you know?" Chase cleared his throat. "I was on a job when you all called me. My phone was in the van…"

"Chase, it's alright. Mackenzie is still in surgery, getting here earlier wouldn't have done you any good." Aaron said sitting back down. "Sit down. We'll all be here awhile."

Just as Chase sat down the doors opened again and a doctor strided out.

"Uh Katherine Banks' family?"

Melinda entered the room quickly

"I'm her mother," she said softly. "Is she okay?"

"She lost a lot of blood. I was able to set both of her broken bones and they should heal quickly. She'll need to be temporarily in a wheelchair for her recovery, but once she's discharged she'll need to walk on crutches for the time being." The doctor explained. "Also we didn't realize she was bleeding into her stomach until she almost bottomed out. We lost her for over two minutes before we brought her back with the paddles. We were able to find the bleeder and she was back at a normal and healthy heart rate when we closed her up and sent her off to recovery. You'll be able to go see her in a few moments. She's in room 204." The doctor paused and looked over the chart. "Unfortunately we weren't able to save the baby. I'm very sorry."

He ducked away and left her just standing there.

Ned and Katie lost another baby.

Scott's fists balled up and he stood.

He needed air.

He needed to see Ned. He knew where he was, and that's where he was going.

* * *

Soon news was given and everyone learned that Emma would recover and play again because of Jim's extensive surgery, Mackenzie was put in a light coma to let her brain heal, and Ned only needed twenty two stitches to close up his cheek and twelve stitches to close up his forehead.

Everyone went home except Ned, Chase, Melinda and Jim, or so they thought.

Scott watched through the window as Ned held Katie as they grieved the loss of another child. He'd only heard the story of their first born after asking what the significance behind his phone password was, and never dared to ask again.

He could see Mackenzie asleep in the next bed over, Chase holding her hand as he cried. Praying that she'd be okay.

One thing he'd learned while he was here was that Mackenzie and Chase fought, a lot, about little things, stupid things, and it usually ended with one of them storming out of their apartment.

They lived together, another reason Scott didn't like Chase.

That morning they'd fought about who didn't wash the dishes the night before, and that's why he's left his cell phone in his work van. He hadn't wanted to talk to her.

Over dishes.

Who does that?

"Scott," Melinda yawned. "You're still here."

"I just wanted to check in on Mackenzie, but Chase is in there." Scott sighed and sat down. "How's Emma?"

"She's watching Star Wars and eating jello with Jim. Her concussion is proving to give her some good memories." Melinda laughed and sat next to him. "I thought I'd come check on my other babies. See how Katie and Ned are doing, and give Mack a goodnight kiss."

"That's good," he smiled. "How are you doing?"

"Oh I'm… I'm managing." Melinda squeezed his forearm. "How are you doing?"

"Still a little shaken up," he answered. "I don't think I've ever driven somewhere quicker than today."

"Hey thank you for being there for me," Melinda said smiling at him. "Before Delia and Aaron got here. I wouldn't have been as level headed if it weren't for you. The least I can do is keep Chase occupied so you can see Mackenzie for a minute or two."

"You do that for me?" He stood up and she hugged him.

"Of course, and then you can see Katie and Ned." Melinda took a sip of her coffee, or at least that's what he presumed it was because it was little after eleven thirty. "Come on."

She slid the door open and he walked over to Ned and Katie who were now just laying in each other's arms silently as Melinda ushered Chase out to go get some food in his stomach.

"Scott," Katie whispered. "Hi."

"Hi," he smiled and sat down next to her. "How are you feeling Katie?"

"Tired," Katie sighed. "Lucky that Ned wasn't hurt. Devastated that we lost another child."

"Katie, I'm so sorry." He touched her hand, holding it, squeezing it momentarily. "Do you need anything? Water? Food?"

"Water would be nice," Katie coughed. "My throat is a little dry."

He quickly stood and poured her a glass of water, handing it to her as she turned the television on, startling Ned awake as she pressed her bed up a bit.

"Hmm… Scott? Hey man," Ned yawned and pressed a kiss to his wife's cheek. "What are you doing here?"

"Came to check up on you two," he answered.

"And Mackenzie," Ned cleared his throat and she passed the cup to him.

"Maybe," he blushed.

"She's right over there. Chase might still be here," Katie smiled.

"No. I sent him to go get some food in his stomach," Melinda walked to their side as Scott waved goodbye.

"Mom," Katie sighed and he heard her burst into tears as Ned pulled the sheet over for privacy.

Scott's heart broke when he saw her.

He hadn't seen her in over a two years and last time she was so radiant, beautiful, and had just returned from a week long vacation with her family at their summer cabin.

Not that she didn't look beautiful, she did. She'd just lost so much weight, looked so fragile and pale. Bruises scattered over her body and she had stitches across her forehead.

He hair was in a thick braid, most likely done by Melinda when she came to check on her.

"Oh Mackenzie," he whispered and walked over to her bedside, pressing a kiss to her bandage.

He felt helpless. He could help her in anyway.

He hated that he wasn't able to see her long, that he'd only have another few brief moments before Chase came back.

Her boyfriend.

He wondered if he knew about the baby. If was going to stay with her through it, if they would get married.

Be that couple.

"Scott? You should go home, get some rest." Melinda said touching his shoulder. "You can come back in the morning before work and see her. I'll see to it."

"Alright," he looked back at her as he slowly stood. "Just let me say goodbye."

"I'll be in the hall," Melinda's hand lingered on his shoulder momentarily before he bent down and kissed her forehead again.

Her eyes opened and she grabbed his hand, struggling to breathe because of the tube in her throat.

She tried to say something, but he pressed the nurse button as her BP dropped and she clawed at his hand.

"Mackenzie just stay calm," he said softly, kissing her hand as a nurse ran in a quickly helped disconnect the tube so she could breathe on her own.

"There there…" The nurse said as she pulled the tube from her mouth. "You should be able to breath now, just keep this on." She mentioned to the piece in her nose and Mackenzie slowly nodded. "Alright try and get some sleep honey."

Melinda slowly entered and kissed her cheek.

"Get some rest, your dad and I will be in to check on you soon. I love you." Melinda whispered. "I love you so much Mackenzie."

He squeezed her hand she looked at him as she drew in a shaky breath.

"Don't talk," he instructed. "I have to go and you aren't nearly strong enough to be talking yet. I'll be back in the morning."

"Chase," she whispered as he walked away, noticing the redhead was walking in the room with a bottle of water.

"Mackenzie!" Chose called out and ran to her side, practically shoving him out of the way. "You're awake God, I'm so sorry for this morning. I didn't mean to yell at you. I love you so much."

He waved to Kate, and a once again sleeping Ned as he slid the door behind him closed and met Melinda in the hall.

"Come on, I'll walk you to your car." Melinda smiled. "I've got nothing better to do."

He smiled and she walked him to the squad car, which he needed to return to the station before going home.

"Sleep well," Melinda hugged him and he smiled at her.

"Try and get some sleep yourself Mrs. Clancy." He nodded at her as he walked toward the driver's seat.

"Call me Melinda from now on," Melinda laughed and waved before returning inside, rubbing her arms from the cold February night.

He hopped in the police car and drove away slowly, taking his time to get to the station. It was seldom when he got to drive this bad boy, Ned liked to, he says it calms him. Plus he was his superior and he couldn't really tell him no even if he wanted to.

After parking the squad car out back by the others, he withdrew the keys from ignition and laid back with a sigh.

He wasn't looking forward to the paperwork he'd have to fill out about using the damn car. He hated that just because this was only his second year that he has to fill out paperwork for every little thing he does, but one day it will be worth it.

* * *

Mackenzie laid there quietly, keeping her eyes closed, matching her breaths to the beeping of the machines that surrounded the bed, the only indications of her heartbeat, her existence.

Her legs were numb and she was trying to avoid a conversation about how she was feeling with her sister. Curiosity slowly pried open her swollen eyes to meet a dismal view of a magnolia colored hospital room, the door a navy blue. She slid her eyes sideways to see her IV and medication wire, she was instructed to press a green button every time she felt pain as long as it wasn't within the same two hour time frame. Short cuts ran along her arms, beyond was her chart.

Mackenzie Clancy

Status: Stable (for now)

Admittance: 9:27 pm

Cause of Admittance: Two car collision, thre from the car approx. 20 feet

Diagnosis: Suffered a subdural hematoma, fracture skull and broken nose and three broken ribs, several contusions and lacerations

Other: Eight weeks pregnant

Duration: Unavailable for now

"Hey Kenz... you awake?" Katie whispered and smiled toward her. "You are... I haven't seen you awake since Chase left last night. How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts, but that's acceptable," she muttered and groaned in pain.

"Yeah. You went through the ringer little sis," Katie laughed and threw a cup at Ned. "Wake up Ned! I'm hungry."

"What the?" Ned groaned and then smiled at Katie. "Hey you... I heard the word hungry?"

"Welcome back to the world." Katie said and motioned for him to come closer. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything for you," He whispered as he stood up and kissed her. "What's up?"

That's what she wanted. What Katie and Ned had, what her parents had. A man who loved her unconditionally and looked at her like it was the first time he'd ever seen a beautiful woman.

"Go check get me something to eat? I'm starving." Katie said with a pleading smile. "And some orange juice, I love orange juice from here."

"Oh alright," he said and his hand touched her face one last time before leaving. "I love you."

"I love you too," Katie kissed him and he walked to the door. "Hey Mack, want anything?"

"An apple? Maybe some milk?" She asked softly, clearing her throat and her head vibrated in pain.

She saw black spots around the edges of the room and winced. She pressed the green button and laid back against her pillow.

"Got it," He smiled as Jim walked past him, closing the door.

"Alrighty. I have an ultrasound to give to both of my daughters," Jim said walking in. "Who wants first?"

"At least your being enthusiastic dad," she said as she rubbed her head.

"I have to be or I'll go crazy." He sighed pushing the equipment in. "Emma is in recovery with your mother, she's able to move her fingers. Her hand will be just fine in a few weeks and after some extensive physical therapy she should be able to play again. It's all up to her and the big man upstairs now."

"That's amazing dad," Katie smiled. "Give her my love when you see her next?"

"Of course," he kissed Katie's forehead and smoothed out her hair. "How's your leg and arm?"

"Painless as of now, I'm quite comfortable." Katie explained. "I miss my kids. I need to see them soon, but I don't want to scare them with all the wire and I'm all bruised up. I don't look like their mommy right now, at least not the one who left them home with a babysitter two nights ago."

"Hey, just be thankful they weren't with you in that car." He reassured her as he set up the machine.

"Two nights?" She asked and looked over at them.

"You were out of it all day yesterday," Katie said softly. "Muttering little things in your sleep about Chase and you even said Scott's name. Kind of a creepy."

"We see ghosts Katie," she laughed and winced, touching her head in pain.

"So?" Katie laughed. "I still get creeped out by things."

"Check Katie first. Her pregnancy is more of a priority than mine is." She said looking away from them and then at her stomach.

She couldn't be pregnant. She didn't want to be pregnant.

Not yet at least.

This wasn't her plan. She'd wanted to settle down with the right person, someone who really loved her for her because she needed to be able to tell them about her gift.

Because she couldn't lie to that person for the rest of her life. She wouldn't settle for normal, her mom didn't and Katie definitely didn't.

And eventually she'd be ready to have a baby with him, if he accepted her and didn't run away like that one guy did from her mom.

She'd find love, wouldn't she?

"Alright. You know the drill baby girl," he said squirting the gel over her abdomen. "Where's Ned?"

"I sent him to go get food..." Katie said softly and he smiled.

"Of course you did," he laughed and turned on the machine. "Is he getting you orange juice?"

"Of course!" Katie smiled. "What else am I going to drink?"

"You've been drinking it since you were little so I don't know," he said pressing the wand to her stomach. "Alright let's see if everything is going smoothly."

Katie knew the moment she could only hear her heartbeat that something was wrong.

There was a double heartbeat at the last ultrasound, just like all of her kids, Charlie included.

She couldn't imagine how other women could choose not to have children. Because even with all this pain, there was so much hope. So much love. Her heart ached, but she couldn't imagine not trying again with Ned.

And she couldn't imagine not loving each and every child she'd lost.

"Katie..." He sighed.

"I should be a mother of six you know," Katie said softly, wiping away a fallen tear.

"Bug I'm sorry." He said looking to her.

"Yeah." Katie settled back into bed, turning on her side away from everyone. "Everyone always is."

His hand touched her back softly and he lingered there, whispering something for only her to hear.

"Your turn," he said wiping away his own fallen tear. "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts," she said softly and lifted her hospital gown up to her stomach, a blanket covering from her hips down. "You're not mad at me?"

"No. I love you and if this is what God planned then it's going to happen no matter what I think." He said squirting the gel onto her stomach and pressing the wand against her. "Wanna see?"

"Sure," she answered softly, putting on a smile for him.

He turned the screen and she looked up to see.

"You're definitely still pregnant. Strong little boy or girl you've got in here." He said pointing to the screen. "There's the head and the little fingers and toes. And that right there is his or hers heart, you can see it beating."

"I don't deserve this baby. She does." She looked at her sister and held back her tears.

"Everything happens for a reason," he whispers as he kisses her head.

"I have to go. I'll be back soon." He said checking his pager. "Ems needs me."

He sat beside Katie and kissed her shoulder.

"I'll get Ned," he whispered and rubbed her back. "I love you."

"I love you too." Katie sighed and rolled onto her back.

"Katie please don't be mad." She said quietly as she turned on the tv and flipped through the channels.

"Why would I be mad at you?" Katie muttered and settled on some crime drama.

"Because I'm pregnant..." She replied.

"And I'm not?" Katie laughed. "Oh Kenz, just because I lost a child doesn't mean it's your fault or that I would hate you. Hannah had Jace when I didn't have Charlie and Emma was born days after him. But did I take it out on them? Of course not. Everything that happened to Charlie was my fault, I shouldn't have put so much stress on myself. Everything else just wasn't meant to be." Katie explained and wiped away her tears. "It hurts like the hell every time, but I have two beautiful children at home who love me and Ned and I will try again. We always do, and it's the time you don't plan when you get pregnant. There is not a reason for me to be mad at you. I'm your sister Mackenzie. You're stuck with me."

"Nothing that has happened to you is your fault. You didn't do anything to deserve what happened to Charlie or the other three," she explained. "I need you to promise me something..."

"Anything," Katie smiled.

"Will you help me through this because I'm not ready to mom alone." She sighed. "Because this teacher doesn't care about me. I know that I should have done something sooner but I don't know what to do anymore... I don't feel like myself Katie. Chase is going to leave me when he finds out and I'll be all alone."

"Hey... I would totally come hug you right now but my leg is all banged up." Katie said softly. "But I'm here for you one hundred and fifty percent. You need to do something for me though. You need to report this bastard. No man should get to do that to you and get away with it."

"I can't... he has kids and a wife." She muttered. "I shouldn't have worn that damn dress around him. I was asking for it... and it didn't happen once. It was over a period of months Katie."

"One question Kenz." Katie said sitting up. "Did you say no?"

"Yes. I said no every time but-" She sighed.

"No is no Mackenzie. No consent means it was rape," Katie interjected and grabbed her crutches. "No doesn't mean convince me. However you dress, wherever you go. Yes means yes and no means no. We are putting this bastard in jail."

"Okay," She said and stood up. "But you need to stay in bed. You shattered your tibia and fractured you femur. Lie down."

"You broke ribs and suffered from a subdural hematoma or whatever." Katie said pointing to the bandage on her head.

"Lie down," she said and Katie complied and tucked her in. "Ned should be here soon and you guys will cuddle and be all disgustingly cute just like mom and dad."

She sat back in bed as the door opened to reveal Ned with food.

"Look who I found," Ned smiled as Scott walked in. "Here you go." He set an apple and milk on Mackenzie's table, sliding it over so it's in front of her. "And for you."

"My hero," Katie laughed and kissed him. "I'm so hungry I might even eat the fork."

"So your dad told me to hurry back. Any news on the baby?" Ned asked as he opened the contained for the chicken salad and sandwich.

"Ned," Katie sighed and looked up at him shaking her head.

He pulled in for a hug and kissed her.

"We'll try again," Ned whispered. "We'll have another child, babe. We will. I promise."

Scott pulled the privacy sheet over and sat by her side.

"You look better," Scott smiled.

"You look terrible," she said biting into her apple.

"Thanks. I've been dieting," he joked. "It's been a rough couple of days."

"I know the feeling," she sighed.

"How are you?" He asked touching her hand.

"Pregnant and suffering from a head injury." She sighed. "I don't know how to tell Chase."

"About the baby?" He never expected to get this sort of information from her, to feel close to her, to have her open up to him.

"About everything," she muttered. "My whole life it a mess right now because of what happened to me."

"What do you mean?" He was so confused, why was she dodging the conversation.

"I'm screwed up Scott. This baby isn't Chase's and I don't know how to tell him or my family." She sighed. "The only one who knows is Katie and she wants me to do something, but I'm afraid of what's gonna happen."

"Mackenzie just tell me," he held onto her hand and looked at her.

Nothing she said would change how he felt about her, how he craved to be with her every second of every day.

"I was..." She stuttered and looked away from him.

"You were?" He squeezed her hand in reassurance and smiled.

"I was raped and I don't know how to tell anyone," she whispered. "Can you help me?"

He looked at her felt his heart break.

It wasn't even about someone else getting to see Mack like that when he hadn't. It was about the fact that she'd said no. That something had been taken from her, and turned into something almost unrecognizable.

Why hadn't she told someone? Anyone right after it happened? He could've been able to collar the bastard, now it would be harder. It could take months, years even to just get a suspect. He was so angry she hadn't told him, or Ned, for God's sake why didn't she just tell Ned?

He saw her mouth move and heard her explain that it had been more than once, that she was afraid of what her attacker would do is she came forward. She'd almost forgotten about the whole ordeal until she missed her period, twice and took a test.

Telling her that she was positively pregnant.

He would catch this prick, for her and for her family.

"You're pregnant?" Chase entered the room with flowers and Scott turned around to see the man in his work uniform again.

"Chase," she muttered.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Chase set the roses on her table as he rose from his chair.

He needed to get the hell out of here before he was brought to question.

"I'll see you, Mackenzie." He smiled and waved.

She glanced his way for a second before looking back at her boyfriend.

"I was gonna tell you, I was just scared what you would think." She sighed and wiped away a falling tear.

"Why wouldn't I be happy? God, Mack, you're going to have my child." Chase smiled, kneeling before her. "We're gonna be a family.

"That's the thing Chase, I don't know if this baby is yours." She replied harshly. "And we are barely out college, let alone ready for a baby."

"What? You fucking cheated on me?" Chase scoffed. "How could you? I know we've only been together ten months, but God, I love you."

"No. Never," she grabbed for his hand and he took a step back. "I'd never cheat on you."

Scott lingered around the doorway, just listening, he needed to make sure he wouldn't hurt her.

"Then how the hell would this baby be mine Mack?" Chase asked, scratching his face. "Condoms break sometimes, we've had enough sex to get you pregnant in the last month."

"God damnit Chase just listen to me! I was raped, okay! Is that what you want to hear?" She sobbed. "Do you want to hear how someone shoved me face down into a desk and took me from behind on our six month anniversary? And then proceeded to time and time again come back and do it to me over and over again for eleven more times!" She gasped and let the tears overtake her for no more than a second. "You called me thirteen times that night because I was late for our reservation and I gave you some crap excuse that didn't even make any sense. I would never cheat on you and I can tell you for a fact that I think this baby isn't yours because we don't have sex that much. We maybe have sex twenty times in the past eight weeks, which yes, that is enough to have a baby in most cases, but that's not the point Chase. The point is I don't know if you're the father and it's not because I fucking cheated on you."

"Mackenzie," Katie said softly and looked over at her.

He watched as she looked at her sister, the anger showing in how she was keeping her composure, but tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Chase I think you should go, this isn't good for her." Katie said looking at her monitor. "She just had brain surgery two days ago, she doesn't need to be worked up."

"I don't care. This isn't something I'm just going to let get pushed off," Chase answered.

"That's not what I was saying, but whatever." Kate sighed and took a bite of her salad.

Every word stung only fueling the fire that burned inside of him. Every phrase was like gasoline to it, his fists began to clench and his jaw rooted.

"You don't have to lie Mackenzie," Chase scoffed. "If you're cheating on me just tell me. We both know you can't ever say no."

That's when the final mento had been added to the coke inside of him, he exploded with anger.

"Alright, you're done in here." He yelled, grabbing the collar of his jumpsuit and shoving him out of the room.

"Who the fuck are you?" Chase yelled. "That's my girlfriend in there."

"None of your Goddamn business," he shoved him to the floor. "Don't ever blame the victim. I get that you're angry because someone else got to be with her, and you're also sad because she's pregnant and that kid might not be yours. The possibility that it could be is killing you inside, but how do you think she feels when you're blaming her for what happened."

"You don't know what's going on inside my head," Chase muttered and picking himself up. Chase tired to push past him but he pushed him against the wall. "Go fuck yourself man."

"Take a walk, you're not going back in there until you have a clear head." He muttered.

"Whatever," Chase shoved him out of his way and left.

Scott fixed his jacket and smoothed back his hair before turning around to see her staring at him. "I'll see you around." He said to Katie and Ned before walking toward Mackenzie, sitting next on her bed. "Get better, okay?"

"Just don't be a stranger," Mackenzie touched his hand and squeezed it. "Please?"

Scott pulled Mackenzie to him and covered her mouth with his in a gentle kiss. As their lips moved together, Katie laughed and just continued eating.

"I'm trying to eat," Katie laughed.

It was magic, the way Scott's lips connected with Mackenzie's and when they separated she didn't know what to say, so he said it.

"I just had to do that one more time," he smiled at her and left.

"You two are gonna happen one day and I'm taking credit." Katie munched on her salad as Mackenzie looked over at her.

"And if it doesn't, it's my fault?" Ned laughed.

"Yep," Katie smiled and kissed Ned.


	4. Chapter 4: Meowser Clancy

**A/N: This story is going to stretch my writing skills, I can feel it already ~ Meowser Clancy.**

* * *

"I want to be there for her," Scott began, but LeTrai was already cutting him off.

"That's not happening, Scott, I know for a fact that there's something between you and Mackenzie Clancy and you're just too close to Ned for that to happen," LeTrai said stubbornly. "I do not need you thinking that you're going to be her hero. That's not how this works."

"I never said it was," Scott began, again getting cut off.

"I get it, okay?" LeTrai said softly. "My sister was a victim of domestic abuse once. I asked to be put on the case. The chief said no. Do you want to know why? Because the instant I saw her fiance I punched his lights out. And it was bad enough that I did that but if I'd been in uniform when that happened, let alone on the job, there would have been trouble like nobody's business. And Scott, I know that Mackenzie is...special to you. And I know that even you won't be able to keep a level head."

Scott bit his lip, knowing that that was true. "Let me at least be there while she gives her statement to you and Blair," he begged. "She knows me. She needs a familiar face there."

"Scott, she knows both me and Detective Blair; I've been the chief since Ned started and Detective Blair has always helped out her mother," LeTrai said. "In all of Melinda Gordon's various messes." A frown creased his face, as if he thought about the relationship between Melinda and Blair just a minute too long. As if realizing how little it made sense. "And her sister is in there right now. I don't think you need to be there."

"Please," Scott said simply.

"I don't need you hearing what he did to her," LeTrai said. "I don't need that, Scott."

"I won't interrupt any of it, I'll stay back," Scott said. "I'll stand behind the glass. Mack...she already told me what he did to her. I know that...she needs as much help, as many minds on this, as she can get."

LeTrai sighed, throwing up his hands. "Go ahead," he said, giving in, and walked into the room.

Scott listened as Blair and LeTrai carefully brought Mackenzie out of her shell, telling her that, in this room, they'd call body parts by what they were; no euphemisms. That she needn't be ashamed of any detail. That nothing was too small. That she could tell them all she needed them to know.

"I need you to be as descriptive as you can be as to what happened the first time and you can be more vague about the rest," Detective Blair said.

Mackenzie looked over at Katie, talking softly with her in words that Scott couldn't catch.

LeTrai carefully pushed the recorder closer and Mack, inhaling, started to speak louder.

Scott felt his heart freeze as she detailed the months leading up to it; working hard for Preston Jennings, trying her best to be attentive to his needs as a teacher. And how that all just changed one day in October. She told of being pushed over a desk, degraded, being made to feel like she was no longer a person, just his sex toy; how what she wore got turned into a signal for Preston that it was okay.

How Preston made excuses, told her he was sorry, begged her to come back. How Mack, out of the goodness of her heart, had listened to him. After all, you were supposed to give second chances.

How he'd done it again, and again, until Scott realized that he was crying listening to this, hating so much that something so precious to Mackenzie, an act that should be so beautiful had been turned, twisted, pulled into something wretched. Something to be feared and remember on dark nights, to wake up from nightmares only to realize that the real nightmare was waking up.

He buried his face in his hands, as it became almost too much to take in. As Mackenzie's voice broke and he could just sense Katie taking her hand and squeezing it, and LeTrai's voice was getting softer and Detective Blair took over questioning again because no one was getting through this unaffected.

And then they were leaving. Mackenzie was crying, and Katie had to go find the bathroom but Mack didn't want to go and Scott found himself stepping from the shadows.

And she saw him there. "You heard it all?" She asked, voice raw, and he nodded.

A crooked, broken smile appeared on her face. "Well, now I don't have to tell you," she said.

He reached out and took her hand. "I wish I'd been there," he said, voicing the regret, the thought that had been niggling all along, a self condemning line about how if he'd been with Mackenzie, maybe she wouldn't have been afraid to speak up. Maybe Preston wouldn't have raped a cop's girlfriend because he would have been too afraid that Scott would notice.

And maybe he would have done it anyway. Because he was twisted and insane.

Scott threaded his fingers through hers, pressing their palms together. "I can't change what happened," he breathed. "But I would really like to help you through this because...because I should have let you help all those years ago. And I cannot let myself make that same mistake." I can't lose you again.

Mackenzie just nodded, her lips pressed together like she was suppressing tears. Like she wanted to speak but it was too hard to find the words. She finally stepped forward, surprising him by throwing her arms around his neck.

"I haven't cried yet," she said. "Not really. And I just really need this."

And then, caught by Scott's arms, she did, letting everything out.

Katie exited the bathroom, looking drawn, and then taken aback when she saw Scott standing there, holding a sobbing Mack.

"Oh, baby," she whispered, running forward, throwing her arms around both of them. "Oh, Kenz, just let it out."

And together the three of them cried.

* * *

LeTrai surprised them with ice cream. After Mackenzie finished crying, still tasting the tears in her mouth, after a female cop had given them some kleenex and she'd gone to the bathroom to wipe her eyes, LeTrai was waiting there.

"I had the rookie go and get these cones," he said. "It's just McDonald's but you should probably eat something and sugar is a mood booster."

"It can be," Scott said, and Mackenzie snuck a peek at him, eating his cone slowly, not quite looking at anyone anymore, about to draw back into his shell.

"Well, it's quick," LeTrai said a bit exasperatedly. "Just because you workout more than I do and have a healthier diet doesn't mean you need to rub it in."

"You're doing fine," Katie joked, patting LeTrai's shoulder. "Every police chief needs a bit of a paunch."

"Oh god, I'm going to go run six miles now," LeTrai joked. "But seriously, I have to go." His eyes softened. "Take care, Mack. We'll get him for you. I promise."

"We will," Scott agreed, finishing his ice cream and dumping an empty cone in the trash. He smiled at her again, mouth a bit tense but eyes warm. "I should get back to work too. Do you guys want a ride home?"

"We're fine," Katie nodded. "But thanks."

She wound her arm through Mackenzie's; Mack could feel herself leaning into the embrace. She needed this. She didn't know where she'd be right now if not for all the comforting arms that had reached out to her.

The world was a cruel place. But there were still good people in it and she almost started to cry again from how good it felt to finally be able to remember that. To believe it.

* * *

Melinda was watching anxiously, wondering what was taking her daughters so long to get home from the hospital.

Katie had told her, in quite simple terms, that they didn't need to be picked up. That Asher and Willow needed to be watched and Katie felt guilty enough that she had barely seen her kids in the past week, and that it had largely fallen on Melinda to watch them.

As if she minded that. As if she would ever mind that.

Asher came to the door with her. "Is mommy coming home today?" He asked. "Why isn't she here yet?"

"I don't know, Ash," Melinda whispered, placing her hand on his head, ruffling his hair. "Katie texted that they were leaving the hospital but that was hours ago."

She leaned to pick up the seven year old, grunting a little. He was getting so darn big. Jim would have no problem picking him up, even now, but Melinda was just starting to struggle.

As they watched, Katie's car, familiar to them both, pulled into the driveway. Melinda let out a choked breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Oh, thank god," she whispered, setting Asher down again and letting him run out the door the instant that Katie had the car in park.

"Mommy!" He gasped, as Katie saw her son and threw the door open, running to meet him, falling on her knees before him to scoop him up.

"Ash, oh Asher," she whispered.

Melinda hurried outside herself, wanting to see her own baby: Mackenzie, who was getting out of the car much more slowly, looking at Katie and Asher's tender reunion and rubbing her stomach.

She was going to be a mom, Melinda remembered. Mackenzie was going to be a mother. She already was. She and Chase.

She frowned, admitting to herself that she didn't really like Chase; wondering if that was why Mackenzie still wasn't enthusiastic over the news.

Wondering if they both wished another man was the father, a tall black haired man who eyes were silver and who'd always just been there in Kenz's life.

Melinda should have tried harder to set them up all those years ago, after Scott and Ned were involved in that hostage situation.

She almost ran forward, throwing her arms around Mackenzie the way Katie had done with Asher, holding her second daughter close, closer, realizing that she was crying.

"Where were you guys?" She finally said, pulling away with bright eyes. "You texted me forever ago that you guys were getting discharged by your dad and then I didn't hear anything else."

"We stopped by the police station," Mack hedged.

"Ned's not back at work yet," Melinda said, her voice blank, confused.

"No," Katie said, straightening.

"Go ahead and find Willow," Kenz told her sister. "I want to tell mom."

Katie nodded and ran inside, holding Asher close.

"What's up, baby?" Melinda wondered.

"Can we sit?" Mackenzie said, already going to the steps leading up the house.

Melinda nodded, her heart heavy, wondering what she was about to be told.

"I only told dad today," Mackenzie said. "And he was probably too busy to tell you or say anything."

"I haven't heard anything from him," Melinda whispered.

"Okay," Mack said. "Okay. Thing is, mom…" Her face worked and Melinda's heart broke, wondering what could be so hard for Mackenzie to tell her; she was her mother.

"The baby, my child, he...she...isn't Chase's," Mackenzie said, forcing the words out.

"Oh," Melinda said. "Oh. Well…"

"Don't, not yet," Mackenzie whimpered. "Oh god. Preston Jennings is, mom."

The words didn't even make sense. Preston was one of the men that Jim had mentored; they were close, if not best friends, and he was married, he had a kid...Lorelai was one of Mack's best friends.

Was there a sleepover at his house? No. She was his TA, Melinda remembered that now.

"Well, I'm confused," she said. "But I don't...I wouldn't judge you for sleeping with a married man. I wouldn't do that, Mack."

"That's not it," Mackenzie whispered. "Though thank you for that. Seriously." Her voice broke again. "He raped me. Multiple times. That's why we went to the station. Preston showed up and daddy punched him after I told him and I knew that I had to report it."

The words weren't sinking in. Melinda was staring at her, her daughter, her little girl, and she couldn't comprehend what she was being told. Her baby had been raped. By a man that both she and Jim considered to be a friend. And this was the first she'd heard of it.

"What happened?" Melinda asked dully. "What did he do to you?"

"I can't say it, I've said it too many times already," Mackenzie said. "Mom, it hurts so bad. It was my anniversary with Chase the first time. I was wearing a short dress because we were going out. And he just...Preston just...and it happened again and I left, but he said he was sorry, it was a mistake, and oh god, I believed him and it happened again."

She was crying. She was crying so hard and Melinda pulled Kenz into her arms, feeling her own body shaking with tremors.

"I said no," Mack whispered, over and over, a mantra. "Mom, I said no."

"It doesn't matter if you said it or not, rape is rape," Melinda managed. "You don't need to justify yourself to me. You didn't want it to happen. Of course you didn't want it to happen. He's Lorelai's father. He's your dad's friend. Oh my god."

She clutched her daughter to her, burying her face in Mack's blonde hair, smelling disinfectant, and some of her own perfume that she'd given Mack in the hospital.

No. This couldn't have happened. Her baby girl.

No.

How could they not have seen it? All of it, every time? How did Mack slip it past them?

How could this not be Melinda's fault for letting Preston into her daughter's life? For not somehow knowing, for not paying more attention to her daughter?

* * *

Hours passed. Melinda had settled Mackenzie into her old bed; she was overwrought and still tired and just needed a nap.

Ned had come and met Katie at the house, driving his whole family home for the first time in a week. There had been hugs and wet eyes all around; Ned seemed to know something about it and he hugged Melinda extra hard.

She remembered how he'd run from the car; he'd been around the past few days but Katie being in the hospital still had made him decide that he wouldn't be much at home for Willow and Asher until Katie was, and they'd kept Willow and Asher at the Clancy home for a few more days.

She remembered how big his smile was when Willow toddled towards him, taking proud steps.

"Daddy!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms up, basically begging to be picked up, and Ned did so, swinging her into his arms as Katie watched, tears in her eyes, and Melinda could easily read her daughter's mind:

There could easily have been a time when this would never have happened again. There could easily have been a time where Asher and Willow would end up being raised by their grandparents.

Melinda didn't want to think about that. She pushed forward and hugged Katie again, again and again, because she'd never get over the fact that Katie was alive. That Ned was. That the whole Banks family was alive and well and healthy.

"Hey, Willow, you ready to go home?" Ned asked, taking Asher's hand as Katie started to open her car doors.

"Home?" Willow asked, wonder in her voice. "Yes!"

Ned met Melinda's gaze as they left, a smile on his lips and happy tears in his eyes. They both knew that it would be a long time before either of them forgot this moment.

Lana and Emma were tiptoeing around, not quite asking questions yet. Letting the topic be for now, because Mack was napping and Melinda was walking around in a daze, and they knew that they just had to wait until Jim came home. Until daddy was there and brought a semblance of normal back.

Melinda was sitting on the porch steps when Jim drove up, a mug of tea in her hands, which she promptly set aside and stood up, waiting for him.

His footsteps were slow; his face was drawn and when he reached her he just pulled her into his arms, no questions asked.

And they were just there for each other, breathing each other in, trying to draw comfort but there was little comfort to be had. "Kenz told me," Melinda said. "About Preston."

"I want to kill him," Jim whispered, pulling her even closer. "Punching him wasn't nearly enough."

"I want to take a baseball bat to his head," Melinda hissed. "But then I want to turn it on myself because how the fuck could this have gone on for months without us noticing?"

And then she was crying, furious with herself, with everyone, angry at the whole world for what it had dared to do to her child. When the Clancys were already carrying a little heavier weight because of everything that Katie had gone through; because they could see ghosts and no one quite understood that, and wasn't that enough?

"Oh, Mel," Jim said, kissing the tears away.

"Why didn't she tell us?" Melinda wept. "Why couldn't she?"

"She blamed herself," Jim said. "I hate that, but she did. She does still."

"No, it's not her fault," Melinda said furiously. "God, Jim, it was my fault. Why didn't she tell me?"

"Would you have told?" Jim urged. "Understand her. Would you be able to tell...even me?"

The words hurt them both, imagining it hurt them both and Melinda broke down again. "Fuck, Jim, I wouldn't have had to. You would noticed the instant it happened. I can never forgive myself that I didn't."

"No, no, Mel," Jim soothed. "We can't afford to think like that. Do you think I don't feel the same way? I'm furious. I can't believe that I let Preston into my life, let him know my daughter, but that's all in the past." He pulled back, hands on her face. "My love, we have to focus on what's present, and what's in the future, for us and for Mack. We have to make the best of this. We weren't there for her then, true, but we can be there for her now." His eyes were wet. "We have to be."

She nodded, her lips trembling again. "Come inside with me," she said. "Up to Mack's room. She's napping in there."

They walked inside, hands tight in each other's, and Melinda saw Lana and Emma, lurking in the hallway. "Come on in here, girls," Melinda whispered. "Come on."

Mackenzie stirred, rolling over and smiling at them when they came in. "Can we tell them?" Melinda asked.

Mack sighed, smile fading. "You should," she whispered. "So they don't hide it if it happens to them."

* * *

Mackenzie was more than grateful to her parents for taking over the conversation; god, she'd said these words too many times now.

And now Lana and Emma were on the bed with her, crying with her, mourning with her.

"But now…" Melinda was finishing, after telling Lana and Emma that they should come to her and Jim immediately if anything like this ever happened. "We have something to celebrate. A baby is a baby. Mack is bringing a new life into the world. I think this calls for ice cream."

Mackenzie found another smile rise to her face, as her sisters hugged her tight, and her father went downstairs to get a carton; they all ate straight from it, licking their spoons clean, crying and laughing at the same time.

This was going to be hell. There were going to be terrible moments, Mackenzie knew that.

But god, she finally had her family here with her. Around her. Everywhere. Ready to help her through it all, through everything and as she felt Emma and Lana pressed against her, she had never felt so grateful for her family


	5. Chapter 5: GhostWhispererFangirl

**A/N: GhostWhispererFangirl here! Time to test some relationships. Enjoy :) xx Mariah**

* * *

Boredom was the worst thing when it comes to slow points at work. All he wanted to do was nail Preston into a wall and send him off to prison for twenty five years, but he needed more evidence. Mackenzie's word wasn't enough to a jury or a judge and that disgusted him.

The world was a twisted place.

Scott calculated how hard he'd have to throw his pencil to hit Lucas on the head. Maybe he should lean more left and give it a light toss, that should hit him on the back of the head right?

It's not like he had anything else to do for the next two hours of his shift... his lead on Preston had left as quickly as it came with the possibility of finding surveillance of him hurting her, not that he wanted to see that. He knew he'd actually go after Preston if he saw him hurting Mackenzie like that.

But it had been weeks since they'd had an active lead on this case, over a week since they'd gotten Preston to agree to give a statement about the accusation.

That man irked him, just the way he'd talk down about Mackenzie like she was his personal sex toy delivered to him from God.

He described what happened as an accident, that he hadn't intended on cheating on his wife, that Mackenzie had asked for it when showing off too much thigh.

"The girl has been flirting with me since she was sixteen," Preston chuckled. "I've known her since was a toddler, I never saw her as anything but a second daughter to me until that night. She looks delectable. You know what I'm talking about Josh," Preston looked at LeTrai with a smile. "Remember when your wife wore that blue dress and you couldn't keep your eyes off her at the last holiday party? That's how I felt, this girl was begging for it."

It took every ounce in him to not kill the guy right there, and he wasn't a violent person. For God's sake if you spilt coffee on Scott, he'd apologize for being in the way. That was just the kind of guy he was.

He'd been raised around violent people in the foster system, he'd been left all alone when his parents died in a freak car crash when he was five, and promised himself that he'd never be like that.

He launched the pencil with the flick of his wrist and his Lucas square in the head as Ned walked through the doors with his family.

"Scotty!" Asher cheered and jumped on his lap. "Are you working?"

"I am bud," Scott laughed and tossed the kid in the air once. "Did you miss me?"

"I missed you!" Asher hugged him tightly and he returned the gesture. "Mackenzie misses you too. We just stopped by to see her and mommy said she wasn't feeling good and something about missing you to my nana."

"Asher," Katie laughed. "That was supposed to be a secret."

"But you told me to-" Asher rebutted.

"Shh," Katie said petting her son's head.

"I'll be right back," Ned handed Willow to Katie with a kiss to the lips, before he walked to LeTrai's office and left the three of them with Scott.

"So what about Mack?" He asked.

"You should go see her," Katie smiled. "She needs a visit."

"What happened?" He asked, tickling Asher to occupy him from their conversation.

"Chase broke up with her last night, it was a big thing." She explained while bouncing little Willow in her arms. "Not that she really needs him to break up with her to be in the dumps, just ask Ned. I'm all over the place when I'm pregnant, most women are."

"Because that's what she need right now," he muttered. "What is wrong with that guy?"

"He's not a bad guy Scott." She sat down on his desk, moving Willow to her lap and kissing her head lovingly. "He really loved her, if he didn't he wouldn't have lasted so long. He wouldn't have stayed after knowing if he didn't love her. It think it was their one year anniversary that set him off. I know that doesn't excuse anything because trust me I want to kill the man because he hurt my little sister, but that won't help. They're both hurting, and he's taking it out on her, and she's moving into my parents house for now since he kicked her out," she explained. "She's just really in the dumps and needs a pick me up. I think you stopping by would really help."

"I'll stop by once my shift is over." He smiled. "Maybe pay Chase a visit too."

"Scott," she warned and shook her head. "Don't do anything stupid."

"I'm not a violent person Katie, you know that." He sighed.

"I know, but I also know that you punched a guy once to defend Meech back in college." She laughed and let Willow take her finger into her mouth, rubbing her gums. "How's that feel babygirl? Your gums hurting?"

Willow hummed and looked up at her, with tired brown eyes. She kissed her head and rubbed her cheek.

"How do you know about what happened with Meech?" He asked and rubbed his jaw.

"Aaron..." they said at the same time.

"My brother tells me a lot of stuff," she laughed. "We became a lot closer since him and Michele had Leo."

He smiled as Ned came back out with a piece of paper. "Back on the schedule?" He asked.

"Yep, I'm back at work tomorrow. Miss me?" Ned pushed down on his partner's shoulders. "I've been gone for almost three months."

"Definitely, I've been stuck with Lucas." He said and threw another pencil at his superior.

"I'm gonna kill you O'Neill if you do that one more time!" Lucas snapped.

"Try me," he chuckled.

"That must suck," Ned joked before reaching down to pick up his son and placed him on his shoulders.

"Mommy look how high I am!" Asher giggled down at his mommy. "I'm taller than you! And Scotty!"

"You are!" She gasped, trying to look happy for her son. "Be careful Ned," she muttered as Asher gripped on tighter as he almost slipped off his father's shoulder. "You're gonna drop him, ugh put him down please."

"I've got him honey." Ned laughed and kissed his worried wife. "You worry too much."

"I worry just enough," she said rubbing her daughter's back. "Say bye to Scotty everyone. We've got a few more things to do."

Willow waved as she yawned and lied her head on her mom's chest.

"Bye Scotty," Asher smiled and Ned patted his partner on the back.

"I'll pick you up for patrol at six, you better be awake or I won't be nice when waking you up." Ned set Asher down on the floor and he helped Katie to her feet and his arm around Katie's waist.

"Yes sir," he laughed and bent down to give Asher a quick hug before walking toward LeTrai's office.

"Don't forget to go stop by and see Mack." Katie reminded him as they walked toward the door.

"Going to see if LeTrai will let me off earlier," he said as he watched their little family leave.

At least they were okay, that the accident hadn't crippled their family dynamic much, and that was a blessing.

Asher ran ahead and held the door open for them.

"LeTrai?" He knocked on the door and slowly stepped in.

"What's up O'Neill?" He slowly shut the door behind him.

* * *

LeTrai had reluctantly let Scott go early, cursing about having to go home late to his wife, Alice.

"I'll pay you back one day, I promise." Scott called out as he grabbed his keys and ran out of the precinct.

He needed a shower, and to change clothes. So he did that, and ate something quickly, just in case he was there for longer than usual.

And then he couldn't drive fast enough to get to the Clancy's house.

It took all his strength not to figure out where Chase lived and talk some sense into the jerk, because who takes it out on victims? Mackenzie didn't do anything, but she was getting punished.

He parked on the street because their driveway already had two cars in it, and he didn't feel the need to trap them in if they needed out.

When he locked his car, the front door opened to reveal one of her younger siblings, Lana he believed who ushered him in.

"You know where Mackenzie is staying," Lana said softly. "She hasn't come out all day."

"Thanks," he slid his shoes off and walked up the stairs, letting the youngest of the Clancy's slip past while bringing himself to the closest room to the stairs.

He knocked and there wasn't an answer, not even a noise.

"Let yourself in," Melinda said patting his back. "She hasn't said anything to me all day. The only one she's talked to today was Katie."

He barely nodded before slipping inside the room and quietly closing the door behind him.

The blankets were covering her, but he could see the outline of where she was curled up in a ball.

"Go away," she rasped, before launching a pillow at him.

He ducked, just in time, before walking over to the side of the bed.

"Mackenzie," he let her be known who was here and she peeked an eye out from underneath the blanket.

"What do you want?" She cleared her throat and looked up at him.

"I just wanted to check up on you," he said softly.

"My sister told you, didn't she?" She croaked and reached for her glass of water, letting the blanket slip enough to show that she wasn't wearing a bra underneath her tank top.

"Maybe," he didn't want to glance, he wasn't that guy. But he did, her breasts had gotten larger, more swollen and they looked like they needed some love right now, but he wasn't that guy and she wasn't ready.

She pulled the neckline on her tank top up and he found her eyes again.

Scott stared into Mackenzie's eyes, determined not to look away first. He was certain that she was trying to hide something, and he was determined to find out. He contorted his lips into an awkward, toothy smile, and she laughed genuinely.

"How are you?" He asked, genuinely wanting to know exactly how she's feeling, how the baby is doing, if her world is going back to normal.

"Besides being pregnant with _his_ child?" She laughed and brushed a piece of hair out of her face. "I'm good, the baby is growing at a healthy rate and I'm finally in a stable place again. My parents have been really supportive, everyone has. I was able to get classes online to finish out my last semester and get my diploma, finally."

"I heard about what happened with Chase..." He sighed. "But I'm glad you're doing better. How is the Clancy family doing?"

"We're just fine. We're a strong bunch, a lot of shit has happened to us." She laughed and settled back into her bed. "You can lay with me... if you want."

If he wanted to, hell yes he wanted to.

He settled beside her as she kicked the blanket off and looked over at him.

Her shirt fell in folds around a bump on her stomach. She held her hands around it, cradling it like she would the baby within. It was larger than he'd expected- about the size of a small watermelon.

"You're really pregnant," he smiled, in awe of how beautiful she looked plump with child.

"Almost five months," she laughed and looked over at him. "Does it freak you out?"

"You look beautiful," he said softly. "May I?"

"Of course," she rolled up her shirt enough for her bellybutton to be seen and he smiled, he'd never seen a pregnant woman this close and Mackenzie was beautiful.

Her bellybutton was swollen and he couldn't help but let himself touch her, it was incredibly erotic to touch her bare skin.

He felt something move and smiled, it was so subtle that if he hadn't been paying attention he wouldn't have felt it.

"Is that him or her?" He asked.

"Yeah, that's my baby." She smiled and touched his hand. "These little kicks are what get me through."

"Glad to hear it," he said softly as she leaned in closer, resting her head on his shoulder. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"No," she yawned. "Chase wouldn't let me go to bed until I understood what he was going through. I just wish he would hear me out, and believe me." She bit tears, but a few spilled out and she wiped them away. "I'm very emotional, I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay." He whispered, rubbing her side out of comfort. "What he did wasn't okay."

"All of this is my fault," she whispered. "I ruined us. He couldn't even look at me."

"Nothing that happened to you was your fault," he reminded her, kissing her forehead. "Nothing is your fault."

They laid there together in silence, a few sniffled hear and there until she collected herself.

"How's the case going?" She asked.

"Slow," he answered softly, rubbing her back absentmindedly. "We're trying to find a new lead. I thought there might be surveillance cameras, but there weren't any near his room. And none of the cameras captured anything of you coming or leaving his office."

"What about the one in his classroom?" She whispered, slowly falling asleep.

"In his classroom?" He asked.

"Yeah, there's a camera in the back right of his lecture hall. I don't know if it has audio, but it for sure has picture." She explained, barely able to keep her eyes open at this point. "It runs 24/7."

"Sleep," he whispered as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

"But the cameras," she yawned and smacked her lips together sleepily, tucking herself further into his chest.

"You told me enough to get a warrant for it," he explained softly. "You're exhausted. Sleep Mack, I'm not going anywhere."

He slid her off his shoulders and slipped out of his blue and black flannel, leaving himself in just his jeans and tank top, hanging it on the bedpost behind him before sliding onto the bed more, pulling the blanket over them and kissing her forehead.

She curled up against him, her swollen stomach ling over his lean muscled one smiled at the feel of another kick.

And with that, they slept.

* * *

It was a little after seven when Scott woke up again, the sound of Mackenzie showering in the connected bathroom waking him up.

Shit, he thought and felt his erection sprung to life.

This was not the time for him to be thinking of Mackenzie naked. Not the time at all.

He needed to go home, and before that he needed to leave her house, where her parents and younger siblings were downstairs.

"Mack, uh, I'm gonna go." He said sitting up in her bed, pushing himself up and running a hand through his hand.

"Alright," she called. "I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah, of course." He stifled a yawn and fixed his pants enough to hide himself a bit more.

He'd have to deal with that later, at home, alone.

The shower shut off and he heard the curtain be pulled back.

Should he leave? Was that his cue?

He went to the door, but something in him told him to stop, just wait another second.

"Scott wait," she said walking out in a robe, his heart beat faster as he turned around to see her.

At least it wasn't a towel, he reminded himself.

That sight would be the death of him.

"I should really be going," he muttered and tried to look anywhere but the dip of her breasts that could be seen from the gap in her robe.

"I just wanted to say thank you for stopping by," she said softly. "You really cheered me up."

He smiled and leaned forward enough to hug her, his hands settling at the small of her back.

He pressed a kissed to her cheek and rubbed her back softly.

"I'll see you soon, that's a promise." He whispered and smiled at her before slipping from her room.

Mackenzie was going to be fine, this baby would make sure of that, and so would he.

* * *

Dinner was called and Mackenzie left her room for the first time that day, dressed in a tight tank top and shorts, Scott's flannel over her and keeping her warm.

"Dad, you should really look at that furnace again," she rubbed her arms and slipped behind him to grab a bottle of ginger ale.

"Mackenzie, you're up." Jim pressed a kiss to her head as he walked past her with a dish of chicken. "And I will, once we eat."

"Are you feeling better?" Emma asked, walking into the kitchen.

"A lot better," she smiled at her little sister, rubbing her head.

"Because of Scott?" Emma giggled.

"Yeah, he's a good thing in my life." She sighed, untwisting the cap and taking a sip.

"There is no way this is yours," Melinda pulled on the flannel.

"Scott was wearing that when he got here," Lana added as she joined the circle around her. "And not when he left."

"Are we eating dinner, or-" Jim asked to all of his girls.

"Girl drama, shush." Emma said jumping on her dad's back to distract him.

He brought her over to the table and sat down next to her.

"Nothing happened, I fell asleep and so did he." She answered, parting them and walking to the table.

"She's in a good place mom, that flannel tells us that." Lana smiled as Jim helped Mackenzie sit down and they made their way to the table.

The flannel was a beacon of hope to Melinda, her little girl was going to be okay.


	6. Chapter 6: Meowser Clancy

**A/N: Meowser here. A lot of stress in my life lately helped write this chapter. I'm not anywhere near a situation like Mack's, but I just feel closer to her than I originally did, since she's learned so clearly lately that the world is not as it should be. That people disappoint you.**

 **I wish I had a Scott. Don't worry, I make do.**

* * *

Mack woke up the morning of her twenty four week exam with flutters in her stomach.

She heard a knock at her door; a moment later Melinda poked her head in. "Hey, baby," she said. "You up? We've got an appointment at ten with Dr. Kimberly."

"I know," Mackenzie sighed, rolling over and carefully sitting up; her mother darted forward but Mack was already standing before she made it over to help.

"How are you feeling?" Melinda asked, rubbing her back anyway. "I know that month six with you started with back aches."

"Thanks, mom," Mackenzie laughed. "No, I feel fine. I'm nervous, I guess."

"About the exam?" Melinda wondered, concern knitting her brow. "Do you think something is wrong?"

"No," Mackenzie said. "And if I did, I'd have been in you and dad's room interrupting your early morning love fest to tell him and ask him to drive me to the ER."

"There wasn't a love fest this morning," Melinda said a bit haughtily, but Mack could see the flush on her mother's cheeks; though Jim and Melinda had always been open, and especially the fact that Katie and Ned never even stopped having sex helped to open the conversation, she knew that her mother still sometimes felt awkward when it was so transparent to her children every time their parents had sex. "Your dad left early."

"Then I would have called him," Mackenzie said.

Her mother reached out and straightened the collar on Mack's flannel shirt; rather, Scott's. "You haven't washed this yet, have you?"

"I've been holding off on wearing it too much," Mackenzie slowly admitted, not quite looking at her mother as she said the words. "I didn't...don't want it to stop smelling like him."

"Oh, baby," Melinda whispered and pulled Mack into her arms, tight and strong.

God, Mack loved her mother's hugs. They were second only to her father's hugs. And her father's hugs were second only to both of her parents hugging her at once. And that wasn't second to anything.

Except Scott's hugs.

The thought burst into Mack's mind and she blushed bright red, dismissing the thought. Scott was...well, Scott was Scott. Things could never go anywhere in that relationship.

She looked down at her stomach, rubbing it thoughtfully, and Melinda's tiny hands covered her own, and they both just rested on Mack's stomach.

"What are you thinking about?" Melinda asked, splaying her hand over her daughter's stomach, feeling the swollen roundness.

"It doesn't matter," Mack said, hearing the smile in her voice. And it didn't. Maybe she and Scott never would be a thing, but he still made her smile. And maybe that was honestly enough right now.

* * *

As Melinda backed out of her driveway, a showered and freshly dressed Mackenzie in the front seat, wet hair in a tight braid, she reflected on how odd this was, how it was never something she'd anticipated doing for her daughters.

And yet she wouldn't trade anything. Well, maybe some of the hurt.

She reached over and took Mack's hand in her own for a brief moment, squeezing tight. Mack's hand was much bigger than hers; strong, long fingered. It was like the female version of Jim's incredible hands.

Speaking of Jim, he'd had the four a.m. shift, and she only just remembered him waking her before he left; usually that would mean waking at three-thirty for twenty minutes to say goodbye and kiss for awhile, but today she just remembered the bed dipping and him whispering goodbye right as he left.

Which meant that something was wrong.

God, this worried her. It was probably just stress. She wanted to believe that it was just stress, but Jim had always, always worked out stress in two ways: working out and making out with her.

And he was doing neither of those things.

So what was up?

They reached Dr. Kimberly's office; it wasn't far, and Melinda hurried around the car to open her daughter's door for her, helping Mack out; Mackenzie wasn't actually so far along as to actually require help but it was like she knew that it was actually helping Melinda to give into her mother's incessant need to make things easier for her children.

"You can go in with me again, right, mom?" Mack whispered as she took the forms from the nurse and started to fill them out.

"Yeah, of course," Melinda said. "I've come in every time before now, haven't I?"

"Yeah," Mack said, a smile on her face. "You and dad."

"I bet your dad would take off work if you wanted him to be here," Melinda told her daughter.

"I know," Mack said. "I just meant that you guys have been here every step of the way. And thank you for that."

"No problem," Melinda told her daughter, just as her cell phone rang. "Sorry, let me get this."

"I've got about ten pages of this darn thing left, so go ahead and step outside," Mack said, smiling and tucking some hair behind her ear.

Melinda nodded and hurried out the door, picking up. "What's up, Lana?"

"I just heard it from Tammy," Lana said. "In English class. You know that her dad is a janitor at the hospital."

"What did you hear?" Melinda wondered, mildly confused, wondering if this was the part of the show where she should get worried.

"He said that all the doctors on the fourth floor were talking about one thing and one thing only," Lana said. "That Jim Clancy took his first sick day in about ten years and went home looking like he was about to faint."

"Oh my god," Melinda said.

"Exactly, and I was hoping that he called you and it's all crap and rumors," Lana said.

"I'm at the doctor's with Kenz and I haven't heard a thing from him," Melinda said.

There was a moment of silence between mother and daughter before Melinda growled, a sound that made Lana on the other end startle. "Mom, was that you?"

"This is so like your father," she said. "Taking the weight of the world on his shoulders and never letting on that he needs a day off until that day has come. I'm going home to check on him; Lan, don't worry, I'm sure he's fine. Just stubborn as hell."

"Okay," Lana said. "Sorry if I worried you, I just…"

"It's fine, Lan," Melinda sighed. "It's fine. I'm glad you told me. Love you."

"Love you too," Lana replied. "You'll let me know how he is?"

"Yeah," Melinda said and hurried back inside, seeing Mackenzie seated so patiently in one of the chairs.

God, she hated doing this, disappointing one of her daughters. But when she weighed the options...god, she had to go make sure Jim was alright.

And she'd hurry right back to Mack's side, she promised herself, jogging forward to tell Mack.

Right back.

* * *

It was already ten a.m., and yet Ned was still yawning where he sat at the wheel.

"Should I take over on driving?" Scott asked quizzically, wondering what was keeping his partner up at nights, and why Ned wasn't drinking coffee to compensate.

"Maybe that's a good idea," Ned yawned, pulling over.

"What's up?" Scott asked. "Are you and Katie doing okay?"

Ned's eyes widened as he took a drink of tea, almost choking on the liquid. "Um, yeah, we're doing okay," he rasped, taking another gulp.

Still not getting it, and momentarily forgetting what sex maniacs the Banks were, Scott tipped his head thoughtfully, trying to think of reasons.

"It's just that you've been going home so early and yet you're acting like you've been on the graveyard shift these past few days from how you're yawning," Scott said. "And what's with giving up on the caffeine?"

Scott himself typically avoided coffee and caffeine but he knew for a fact that that had never been one of Ned's hangups.

"Same reason for both, actually," Ned said, a quiet smile playing at his lips. "Katie and I are, uh, trying again."

He met his partner's eyes; and Scott could see how freaking much this meant to Ned, remembering back in January and how heartbreaking that had been.

"Oh my god," he said. "I should have seen it."

"Yeah, you're slipping, dude," Ned said, realizing what Scott wasn't saying, smiling wide and hopping out of the car as they switched seats.

The world was alive with birdsong, Scott reflected, squinting a little in the bright sunshine, realizing he'd left his sunglasses in the car, jogging a little and looking up at the horizon, seeing Dr. Thomas's office on the corner; and a blonde figure stepping from it.

He felt like his world slowly paused, and he inhaled; though his breathing had been normal, he suddenly felt like he hadn't breathed properly in the weeks since he'd seen Mackenzie Clancy.

Oh my god, ran his thought process. You are in deep, dude. So deep.

"What are you doing?" Ned asked in confusion, rolling down his window to call the words as Scott jogged off.

"Be right back," Scott tossed over his shoulder, and kept running, eyes on the goal.

* * *

Melinda felt guilty all the way home, remembering how startled Mack had been when Melinda had told her that she was leaving—and how horrified when she knew why.

"Is dad okay?"

Thing was, until Melinda knew that, she couldn't fucking concentrate on anything else.

She spun into the driveway, noting Jim's telltale truck, the signal that he was most definitely actually home, slamming the car door shut and running in a panic into the house.

He wasn't in the kitchen, something told her that, and she charged up the steps two at a time.

"Jim!" She called, throwing the bedroom door open and stopping short.

He was lying on the bed; he did look awful, pale and she could almost see from his posture how he lacked strength to do, well, anything.

"Mel," he rasped, his eyes opening slowly. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been trying to stay calm," she exclaimed, seeing him wince at the noise, trying to quiet down but unable to do so.

"Mel," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to not tear your head off for stressing us all so much," Melinda said.

"What do you mean?" He asked. "I didn't feel well, I went home and didn't send you a message because it wasn't really a big deal, and besides that, I was trying not to stress you." He rolled onto his back as Melinda angrily sat on the bed beside him, her hip in line with his stomach. "I was going to text you later, I just knew that you'd be busy."

"Well, honey, next time can you just tell me first?" She asked, anger wilting away when she saw what misery he was in; how he hated taking days off and she could just imagine him standing in the middle of the ward, head spinning from how dizzy he was, and yet so reluctant to go home. "Before I hear it from Lana who heard it from Tammy who heard it from her father who's a janitor who heard from all the other doctors."

"What?" Jim asked, brow crinkling. "Okay, my bad, I had no idea news of my being sick traveled so fast."

She sighed, leaning over him, hair serving as a curtain for their faces. "Oh, god, Jim, you're like superman to most residents here, of course news travels fast."

"Don't kiss me, I might be contagious," Jim said, but his words trailed off when her lips hit his, and her arms slowly snaked around his neck; she was slowly but surely climbing onto him, straddling his flat stomach and lying on top of him, their lips connected, and Jim was slowly but surely coming alive, until their positions were reversed and she was the one beneath him, reveling in the weight of him, how fucking solid he always, always was. Even when on death's door as he was now claiming to be.

"What do you have?" She whispered, as his lips slipped away to press kisses to her neck.

"Mm, ear infection," Jim said. "They're all clogged up and I'm dizzy, and I think I have a fever too."

"Well, I'll believe the fever," Melinda murmured. "You're burning up."

"Believe me," Jim sighed against her neck. "I'm more than fine now."

"See?" She whispered, holding her husband close. "You need nursing too."

"Yeah," he agreed, and then they stayed quiet, their bodies saying everything their minds and hearts could think of.

* * *

Mack left Dr. Kimberly's in a bit of a fog; everything was fine with the baby, but she was so worried about her father she couldn't think of much else, and she knew that worry wasn't good, and there was the other minor (major) fact that her mother's car wasn't anywhere in sight and that Mack hadn't actually brought her phone today; she'd left it at the house to charge since her mother was driving.

So was she supposed to walk home now?

She tucked her arms over herself, the world suddenly too big again. She definitely understood her mother going to her father's side in what had the potential to be an emergency but being forgotten in any form was not a comfortable feeling; and if it was an emergency, surely they could have sent Katie to go and get her.

Damn it.

And then, out of the blue sky seemingly, was a shout.

"Mackenzie?"

She whirled on the spot, her heart jumping at the sound, immediately identifying to whom it belonged.

"Scott?" She exclaimed, and he was hurrying up, looking, well, amazing in his uniform; damn, his arms were nice, no wonder he gave such good hugs.

"Hey, what's up?" He said. "I was just patrolling and saw you and…" His words trailed off; she glanced down at herself, seeing what he saw; the loose maxi dress for easy accessibility. "And I couldn't help stopping."

"Oh," Mackenzie said. "Well, I'm glad you did."

"Oh?" He wondered, folding his arms even as she unfolded hers.

"My mom drove home to check on my dad; I guess he's not feeling well, and, well, she isn't back yet," Mackenzie said, laughing a little uncomfortably. "I'm feeling just a tad stranded and forgotten."

"That's not a good feeling," Scott said, voice intense. "Ever."

"No, it isn't," she murmured, glancing up at him, wondering how Scott seemed to always understand exactly how she felt and what she was going through.

"Listen," Scott said. "I mean, I have a car. You'd have to sit in the back, since I don't think Ned would approve otherwise, but I can give you a ride home."

"That would be nice," Mackenzie said. "Thanks."

"What's up with your dad?" He asked, glancing down at her as they started towards the squad car; his hand shot out to cup her elbow as they stepped over the curb; a move she only thought her dad did anymore.

"I don't know, Lana called mom to say that people were talking about him not feeling well," Mack said. "And she just tore out of here. Which I definitely understand. I kind of wanted to go with her."

"I might too, your dad getting sick is kind of weird," Scott said. "Considering how...superhuman he usually is."

"Exactly," Mack said, her laughter pealing out; Ned was getting out of the passenger seat and looking at them quizzically.

"Hey, Kenz," he greeted; Mack wondered if she imagined the quick glance Scott shot at Mackenzie when Ned chose the lesser used nickname for his sister-in-law. "What's happening?"

She explained the situation quickly, feeling Scott's eyes on her throughout all of it, feeling warmed because of it. Because it wasn't jealousy, he wasn't glaring at her for talking to another man, it was more like...it was like he was just basking in her presence, soaking her up, loving being near her no matter who she talked to.

It warmed her heart.

It really, really did. And she honestly had no freaking idea what she and Scott even were; if they even counted as a thing.

But did it matter?

* * *

Ned leaned over as Scott got out of the car, about to help Mack out. "I'll, uh, patrol a few times," he said. "You and Mack can take your time saying goodbye."

"Screw you," Scott said, feeling a flush on his cheek.

"What?" Mack wondered.

"Nothing," both men replied and Scott quickly opened Mack's door, fighting back an urge to help her, and then throwing that away, reaching to take her arms and carefully help her up, feeling her stomach briefly brush his; he couldn't breathe in that moment.

Ned was hopping out, making good on his promise and Scott rolled his eyes, unconsciously holding Mack a little closer as Ned made a lame excuse about needing to run to the station and peeling out of the driveway, leaving them standing there.

He dropped his hands from her shoulders, shoving them back into his pockets, walking slowly across the lawn with her.

"He's so obvious," Mack chuckled, and Scott's heart seized, worried that she'd seen through Ned's matchmaking. "Him and Katie are trying again, in case you haven't realized that yet, and oh my god, it's her fifteen minute break soon and I just bet he goes straight there."

Scott burst out laughing, not only because he hadn't been caught, but because of how damn true it was. Who knew, maybe that was the reason had left, not to help Scott out.

He wouldn't be surprised.

"That wouldn't be weird at all, considering it's them," Scott said.

"I'm glad," Mackenzie said. "In a weird way. It's...nice to see people like my mom and dad and Katie and Ned still having healthy…" She licked her lips, flushing a little and not quite looking at him. "Sex lives. To know that for most people it's...a really good thing."

She looked up at him, blonde hair and blue eyes incredibly beguiling; the sunshine was hitting her just right and he felt a little short of breath.

"It's a good testament," he agreed.

She nodded. "So both of my parents' cars are here," she said, looking towards the driveway. "I wonder what that means. I have a feeling I already know."

Scott laughed again, and she briefly leaned into him as they walked, her arm pressing against his; he found his hand seeking hers out, holding tight and then they just paused on their way across the lawn.

"Do I even dare enter the Clancy household?" Scott teased, looking down at her, feeling her hand in his; she had such long, graceful fingers; strong hands.

"I bet my mom didn't even remember to text Lana once she got home and saw dad in bed," Mack said, rolling her eyes, before flushing. "I didn't mean that the way it came out."

"I've met your parents," Scott said. "I know exactly how you meant it."

As they watched, the front door opened, and Melinda was hurrying out, looking down, and then jumping almost a foot in the air when she saw them standing there. "Mackenzie! Oh my god, I am so sorry, I was just texting you to tell you that I was going to be late."

"Scott gave me a ride home," Mack hurriedly explained; Scott watched the interaction with amusement; Mack had so many of her mother's characteristics; they barely looked a thing alike and yet somehow when they stood side by side, there was no doubt that they were mother and daughter. "And actually, I left my phone at home so it wouldn't have mattered. Did you at least text Lana?"

"Oh my god," Melinda said, her face bright red. "I'm a terrible mother."

"You're a good wife, though," Scott said lightly, and she reddened even farther to again realize that he was still there.

"Thank you, Scott, for bringing her home," she said.

"Anytime," he said.

"I need to call your sister," she apologized, walking across the lawn.

Scott took Mack's arm in his, daring more, leading her the rest of the way across the lawn and onto her porch, remembering the last time they'd been here, and she seemed to be remembering the same thing; they were drifting closer and suddenly the door was opening and Jim was coming out.

"Mel, I can hear her phone—Mack," he said, startled. "Scott."

And, well, Scott was just thankful that Jim wasn't at death's door, or he might have been severely frustrated by the man's horrible timing.

"Jim," Scott said, pulling back, and Mack was flushing, gravitating closer to her father; Jim as if without thinking pulled his daughter in for a hug and a press of his lips to her forehead.

"Don't blame your mom," he said, voice warm. "It was completely my fault."

Melinda was hurrying back over. "Well, Lana is told so we're all good," she sighed. "What are you doing up, Jim? You're burning up, get back inside."

"Nice to see you, Scott," Jim said with a tired smile before Melinda shooed him back in, rather stubbornly closing the door behind them, leaving Mack and Scott on the porch again. Alone.

"Thank you," she said slowly, as the patrol car pulled back up.

"He might just go again if I don't leave right now," Scott said. "Which I wouldn't mind but I can't guarantee when he'll be back."

Mackenzie burst out laughing, and god, how his heart warmed to hear it. "Stay close," she said. "It's been too long since I've seen you."

"Yeah," Scott agreed.

"I was watching a movie the other day and I thought to myself, I wonder if he'd laugh at this line," she said, blue eyes clear. "And how other people wouldn't but you might, and I do. That we might find the same things funny."

Ned in the car put his hand on the horn, startling them.

"I have to go," Scott said.

"Come by for a movie," Mackenzie said.

He tossed not only a smile but a promise over his shoulder. "I will."


	7. Chapter 7: GhostWhispererFangirl

**A/N: GhostWhispererFangirl is here and ready to please you with my writing :D Enjoy! xx Mariah**

* * *

Water glided softly down Mackenzie's shoulders, through flaxen hair, and continuing over her large stomach.

It expanded out to prove that another being resided within her. Two heartbeats within one body. Her back ached as her entire weight relied upon it. She looked down at the stretched skin, spreading her hands over it, flattening them. She could feel her child moving inside her, just barely. And then there was pressure; a kick. She felt her eyes fill with tears, to feel this close to another human being, to feel this much love.

Her daughter was proving to be the most active while she was in the bath.

Daughter.

That was what she'd held off on knowing up until the doctor's visit three weeks ago.

"Your daughter is perfectly healthy Mackenzie." She remembered the doctor telling her and smiled.

Kids were never something she'd really thought about.

Eventually, of course.

But she'd never been baby crazy, not like Katie, or like Lana was proving to be.

She was a mother. That in itself was bizarre enough, but she was clinging fiercely to this new identity she'd never foreseen having this early in life.

Babies were planned to come with marriage, and marriage was planned to not on her mind until she was at least twenty five and working steadily.

"Mackenzie?" Melinda called, knocking on the bathroom door as she entered with her older sister trailing behind.

"What?" Mackenzie asked softly, feeling another kick as she laid in the warm water.

"I have to take Emma to see your dad because she's running a really high fever and is throwing up so much that I'm scared she's gonna throw up blood, so Katie is gonna take you to the station since she's going there anyway."

"I'm naked," she muttered looking at both women. "Couldn't you have said this from outside the door?"

"Like we haven't seen you naked before," Katie laughed and grabbed a towel. "Come on, get dressed."

"I'm enjoying my soak." Mackenzie muttered.

"And I enjoy lunch with my husband," Katie answered, giving her the towel. "I'll be downstairs with Ash and checking on Ems."

"Come on honey," Melinda took the towel and held it up. "I'll help you. I know how hard it can be with a belly in the way." She stood up slowly and Melinda helped her out of the tub and wrapped the towel around her. "How my grand baby doing?" Melinda asked, touching her stomach which poked up from the yellow towel.

"She's kicking up a storm." She laughed. "I think she likes baths."

"Just like her mother, I bet she'll be a little fish too." Melinda smiled. "What do you want to wear?"

"Comfy, my back is killing me." She sighed. "And it's humid, so maybe a shirt that doesn't make me look like a whale."

"You always look good in red," Melinda pulled out a pair of red shorts. "And how about your Mickey tank top?"

"That works," she dried herself off. "Ugh can you hand me my bra?"

"The white one?" Melinda held it up.

"Yes," she pulled on panties and then the shorts. "I'm surprised these still button with my belly." She pulled on the bra and her mom clipped it in the back before helping her white shirt. "How do I look?"

"Oh you look super cute," Melinda smiled and touched her stomach slightly, feeling a kick. "Hi baby. It's your grandma." Melinda stood up. "This is so weird because I thought the next baby would be-"

"Me too," she sighed and then pinned her hair up in a bun. "I better get going before Katie gets too horny down there."

"I can hear you!" Katie called and both women laughed before embracing.

"Be strong and answer all the questions honestly." Melinda explained. "Don't let his lawyer bring you down. Nothing that happened was your fault."

Mackenzie felt her heart twinge and smiled, letting her mother know she'd be just fine.

"Go get Emma to dad before anything bad happens." She said softly as she slipped on sandals.

Melinda rubbed her lower back and they walked out toward the stairs and went down together.

* * *

Scott drove toward the expensive side of town, quickly parking outside the large white home with a picket fence.

"You grab the clipboard. I'll go check on the people inside and see if anything has happened," Ned said jumping from the squad car quickly as Scott shut off the vehicle, grabbing his clipboard and keys before phoning to LeTrai by his CB. "We've arrive at the home. Both Banks and myself are going in the household. Banks has entered already, been let in by a woman."

"Alright. Move with caution," LeTrai said softly. "The 911 call said that something was broken and glass breaking could be heard in the background."

"Will do Capt'n." He answered and hopped out as he climbed the steps and entered the house cautiously.

Everything was marble, no cost spared to make this house perfect. A chandelier hung above the main stairs and his shoes squeaked as he stepped toward the kitchen, stepping over a broken lamp that looked worth more than his entire apartment.

He could hear a man and woman yelling, a voice he clearly recognized.

Preston Jennings.

"Both of you please calm down. I need to speak with the one who called 911," Ned said calmly as he walked over to Lorelai.

"Isn't there a rule against this sort of thing?" Preston asked.

"I will not hold my judgement to you on another case with this one." Ned answered as he looked at Lorelai. "What was the reason you called 911 Lorelai?"

"Oh great her new boy toy is also here," Preston scoffed. "This system is rigged."

"Shut up!" Lorelai yelled. "I called 911 because my parents were fighting, as usual these days and I heard something break and then there was this really loud smack and I was scared for my mom. I know my dad wouldn't hurt her, but still I was scared so I called the police."

"You did the right thing," he said as he wrote this down. "What was broken? Was it the lamp?"

"Ten year anniversary gift, I've always hated that thing." Preston's wife muttered.

"And your name?" He asked.

"Alyssa Jennings," she replied as she hugged Lorelai. "And I'm fine. We all are."

"Was anyone hurt?" Ned asked, looking at everyone.

"No," Preston answered.

"I wasn't asking you," Ned replied as looked at Alyssa.

"It was barely even a slap," Alyssa answered. "I don't want that on the report. He has enough going on, we all do because of that girl."

"That girl happens to be my sister, and we all know what happened since that footage came about." Ned coughed and walked over to Preston. "I'm gonna have to bring you in. Let's make this easy."

"Do what you have to do," Preston muttered as Ned cuffed him and brought him outside. "Alyssa, come get me in like ten minutes. Josh will let me out on bail."

He followed Ned out after making sure that both girls were okay.

"So you got anything to say to me while I can do anything?" Preston chuckled at him. "You wanna defend your little whore?"

"You're not worth my time," he answered and walked past him as Ned pushed in the backseat.

"Officer O'Neill?" Lorelai's voice was timid, quiet, as she ran down the steps after him. He looked at her as she stood before him, dressed comfortably with a pencil in her fidgety hands, barely even five feet tall and her blonde hair shimmering in the summer sun. "Can you answer a question for me?"

"Depends on the question," he smiled at her. "I don't see why I couldn't."

"I know you're closer with Mackenzie," Lorelai muttered. "How is she doing?"

"She's really great. I saw her yesterday and she's getting bigger and the baby is very active." He explained. "She would really enjoy seeing you."

"I can't," Lorelai answered. "Not yet... umm... please don't tell her I asked about her."

He just nodded and turned on his heel and got in the driver's seat before buckling up and driving back to the station.

"Can you bring him to booking? I have lunch plans," Ned answered as he pulled Preston from the backseat.

"Sure," he answered. "I'll write out the paperwork."

"Thank you," Ned clapped his back as he walked in with Preston in tow. "I owe you."

He took Preston by his shirt and brought him over to booking quickly, noticing the golden bun glimmer out of the corner of his eye.

Mackenzie was here to prep with her lawyer, which meant Katie was somewhere and Ned was with her.

"See you in an hour O'Neill." Ned called as Katie stood up from his desk and took his hand. "Do you want anything?"

"Are you actually going for lunch Banks?" He laughed as the couple walked out, everyone knowing they wouldn't be eating anything but each other's lust for the other.

He knew he should get to the report, but Mackenzie was just too distracting and he wanted to make sure she was okay.

He stepped into the room and pressed the button, listening to what was going on inside the interrogation room.

"Okay we are going to heavily press that you were a good student, an athlete and active at your church teaching bible study to middle school kids." Her lawyer explained. "You even went on a mission trip to Mexico your senior year of high school. We just need to focus on what person you are and that you aren't a liar or adulteress which what Preston's team is going to try and make everyone believe. They are going to try and make people think that you were this party girl who cleaned up on Sunday's and wanted to be with Preston."

"I know," she sighed and touched her stomach. "I wasn't a big party person."

"Are you sure because I've seen the evidence Preston's defense has against you." Her lawyer asked as he pulled out his tablet.

"Like what?" She asked.

"A few things of you at some college parties with friends and your ex-boyfriend." Her lawyer flipped through the pictures that she'd carelessly posted on Facebook. "I mean you look pretty relaxed and careless here."

"I went to a few parties, so what? I didn't drink." She answered. "I had a social life and I went out a few times. I maybe had one drink out of all those parties, I don't trust college party alcohol." She saw a blurry picture of her and Chase together just holding each other and looking happy. "Chase and I were so good back then."

"Do you think Chase would take the stand?" Her lawyer asked.

"We're on good terms. I don't see why he wouldn't." She answered.

"I'll contact him," her lawyer said and wrote a note to himself. "And there's one more thing we need to go over. I need to make sure that you don't react to the video footage that was found."

"What video footage?" She asked.

"Officer O'Neill found a security camera with viable footage of Preston assaulting you." Her lawyer cleared his throat.

"He did?" She looked past her lawyer at the glass and saw the silhouette of someone, and she just knew it was him.

She looked at him for a moment before reaching for the tablet.

* * *

Scott watched her carefully as she looked at him and saw a light in her eyes that he wished he saw more often.

She held the tablet in her hands, shaking slightly as she pressed play and he closed his eyes.

He remembered watching that video the first time and shivered. He'd never realized how traumatic that experience could be by just working as a police officer. Grandview was a quiet town, only big cases would happen once in a blue moon so this case shook the town at it's foundation.

A respected anatomy professor had raped one of his student who just so happened to be a Clancy.

The Clancy's were a family that everyone heard about, knew about and knew how influential they were.

Mackenzie watched intently and set down the tablet, wiping away a stray tear and standing up.

"I'm done for today," she muttered. "This stress isn't good for me or the baby."

"Alright. I'll be in contact," her lawyer said softly. "Take care."

She pushed the door open and walked into Scott's chest, looking up at him with tear stained cheeks.

"Mackenzie," he said softly as he hugged her tightly.

"I can't do this," she whispered. "I can't be torn apart on the stand. This isn't my fault, why am I being treated like I'm the one who's on trial?"

"Because our system sucks," he answered. "They blame the victim out of stupidity and I wish I could do more, especially for you."

"Deep down I want to tell you to just run away with me and make things better, but in the end I know we can be anything because a guy like you deserves a lot more than a girl like me." She whispered. "And it breaks my heart because I want to be the person for you, but with this baby... with my daughter... I can't."

"Daughter?" He smiled.

"Yeah I'm having a girl." She smiled. "You're the first person I've told, and I kind of wanted it to be that way. The minute I found out I wanted to race over here and just tell you."

"Have you thought about names?" He asked, touching her stomach softly, just grazing his fingertips over the smooth shirt as he looked at her.

"I thought maybe Danielle, but I want her name to mean something." She muttered softly.

"Freya," he suggested. "It was my mother's name."

"It was?" She asked.

"Yeah, she died when I was four in a car accident," he explained. "And I remember my grandma saying her name. I've always liked it."

"It's beautiful, I really like it." She smiled at him. "Freya..." They both felt a kick to Scott's hand and laughed. "She likes it too."

"Want me to walk you over to the store?" He asked, feeling another soft kick.

"It's closed today. My mom is with Emma at the hospital." She explained.

"Well then I'll walk you there since we both know Katie and Ned won't be back for a while." He smiled.

She smiled and nodded, locking her arm around his and they walked out together.

Preston was being released as they walked out, looking smug as he was with his wife. Mackenzie held onto Scott's arm tighter as they walked out, ignoring his grin and laughter.

"You're gonna be okay," he answered and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Just ignore him."

It was a beautiful summer day and the light summer breeze blew through Mackenzie's hair as she let it down.

"Your hair looks better down," he said softly as they crossed the square.

"Thank you," she smiled at him as they crossed to the hospital, entering and seeing Melinda in the waiting room. "Mom? Where's Emma?"

"She's getting some tests run on her." Melinda explained. "How did prep go?"

"It was alright, a bit stressful." She answered. "But Scott helped me."

"Scott, thank you again for being there in her time of need." Melinda smiled at the young man brightly.

"You always seem to be there for her, and I'm grateful someone is when her father and I aren't able to be."

"I'd stay, but I have some paperwork to write up." He explained. "I'll see you around Mackenzie."

"Yes, please stop by and see me soon?" She reached out for his hand and smiled.

"I will," he pressed a kiss to her cheek and walked away.

Scott took his time leaving the hospital and felt her eyes on him, enjoying the warmth it gave him as he looked back to see her admiring him.

"Scott," a voice called out and he faced the body carrying it.

There stood Jim Clancy tall and mighty in his navy blue scrubs.

"Scott, I need your help." Jim said softly. "With a patient of mine."

"Anything," he said softly. "What seems to be the problem?"

"I believe she is being abused by her fiance by the amount of bruises she has hidden. I thought some friendly advice might help." Jim explained. "Could you help me?"

"Of course," he answered. "I've helped a few women out of abusive homes since I started working here. It takes patience and you have to be careful with the way you word things."

"Which is why I thought you would be helpful." Jim said softly, guiding him down the hallway.

"Of course," he answered. "I'll do everything I can."

"I know you will. Mackenzie speaks very well of you in that area," Jim answered.

"She does?" His face reddened and he smiled widely.

"She's always speaking about you whenever she can," Jim replied with a smile. "I believe you would be very good for her."

"I need the courage to ask her out again," he sighed. "I don't have it yet."

"Time is key." Jim added. "Just know if you need any help to come to me or my wife because you would be an excellent addition to not only Mackenzie's life, but our family."

"Well I better go talk to this girl," he replied. "I'll see you."

Jim nodded and smiled before leaving him there.

Everyone around them could see how he felt for Mackenzie, why couldn't she?


	8. Chapter 8: Meowser Clancy

**A/N: Well, sick days are good for something. Oh goddddddd I feel like this whole week I've been steadily growing worse… ~ meowser**

* * *

Scott squeezed the mini basketball in his palm, trying to relieve the tension of just sitting here. He hated these afternoons, out doing surveillance on some random druggies.

He wanted to be back in the office, doing research on Preston, trying to crack this thing and make sure that when Mr. Jennings was on trial, he would get nailed.

To the fucking wall.

Unfortunately that wasn't all that needed to be done. No matter how much he did to prove that Preston wasn't who he said he was...the way the system works, the battle that had to be won was that Mackenzie was the girl no one believed she could be.

The good girl.

God damn it, why did she have to be good, though? Why did it matter if the girl was good or bad, if it was rape?

It was rape.

She said no.

* * *

These days were dragging by. Scott got back to the station a mind numbing two hours later, shocked to find Mack sitting in the waiting area.

She looked incandescent, as always. Her cheeks had a rosy glow to them, and her blonde hair was in a braid. God, Mack in braids was his kryptonite. She was in a maternity dress; it was long and loose, leaving her arms bare. She smiled when she saw him; a tired smile, but she was determinedly pushing herself to her feet, leaving Scott to dart forward and take hold of one delectable arm, helping her up.

"I want to say that I didn't need the help, but I think the truth is that I hesitated to want it," she said, smiling up at him. "Hey, Scott."

"What are you doing here?" He asked, voice incredulous, hands running over her almost unconsciously, falling to land on her stomach.

She laughed, her cheeks growing redder, and he pulled away, his own cheeks coloring. "Sorry, I don't—"

"No, I know," she said, grabbing his hands and placing them back on her stomach. "It has this weird magnetic pull. You're not the first." She ducked her head. "You might be the first I put back though."

Scott breathed in, smelling her light perfume, his hands covered by hers, both on her swollen stomach. "You didn't answer," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Just another interview," she said.

His brow creased; he specifically didn't remember this, and then he saw LeTrai poke his head from his office, the chief's face falling when he saw Scott standing there.

Apparently Scott hadn't been part of the equation this afternoon.

"You're back early," LeTrai said flatly, as Detective Blair stepped out from behind him, her arms folding when she saw Scott.

"Yeah, I took care of it," he said simply, removing his hands from Mack's stomach and folding his own arms.

He missed the way Mack's gaze shot there, drinking in the sight of his flexed arms, before darting away to meet LeTrai's worried gaze.

"What's this?" Scott asked.

"It's just a formality," LeTrai said. "Mack, you ready?"

"Yeah," Mackenzie replied, stepping forward.

"Ready for what?" Scott bit out.

"It's just a discussion," Detective Blair began.

"Yeah, I actually wasn't sure what to make of the Summons but I just thought I'd come down here and ask," Mackenzie said.

"Summons?" Scott said, holding an instinctive arm out to block Mack from stepping forward again. She raised an eyebrow at it; he sheepishly lowered it. "What kind of summons?"

"Preston Jennings is charging Mackenzie Clancy with slander," a slick looking man said, off to the side. "Is your lawyer here, Miss Clancy?"

Her eyes were widening, and she obviously had no idea what was going on here.

Scott scraped a hand over his forehead, realizing in a moment of clarity that he had never met Mackenzie's lawyer.

"Can we have a moment?" Scott interrupted.

LeTrai heaved a sigh, but steered Preston's lawyer back into the conference room, shooting Scott a look over his shoulder.

"Why aren't your parents here?" Scott asked Mackenzie, voice worried, urging her to sit back down.

"I'm not a kid," she said. "They don't need to be."

Scott had never felt like this with Mackenzie before: frustrated with her, and not with the situation. "They don't need to be," he repeated. "But what did you think when you got the summons?" He took it from the bench she'd been sitting on, seeing it for the first time. "This is an official, legal document."

"I know," Mackenzie said. "Which is why I called my lawyer and told her to meet me here."

"Her?" Scott asked a little blankly.

"I'm sorry I'm late, traffic was terrible," a redheaded woman said, frizzy hair bouncing as she ran through the station doors. "I had to drop off David at his part time job, and then Izzy has swimming today. I'm sorry," she repeated.

As first impressions went, Scott's was of a very short, very pale, definitely Irish, definitely busy out of her mind woman. "Neave Eldridge," she said, sticking her hand out for him to shake. "You must be Scott O'Neill."

"Yes," he said.

"Nice to meet you, I've heard good things," she said.

"I…" He began.

"Listen, Scott, I know this is terrible, but Neave says that this doesn't stand a chance," Mackenzie began.

Neave was already heading for the conference room, pausing at the coffee pot to pour herself a styrofoam cup that she took one sip of and then grimaced, tossing it in the trash can.

Scott couldn't stifle the grin that appeared on his face at the motion. The station's coffee was crap.

"So none of you were going to tell me?" Scott said.

"I didn't say that," Mack began.

"But basically, it wasn't something I was supposed to find out about," Scott said.

"Yes, because this is my case," Mack exploded. "And I don't want your life more entangled with mine than it has to be, especially since people are already looking at you funny now."

Scott hadn't even begun to understand the meaning of her words before she'd pushed past him, joining Neave by the conference room door.

It wasn't about not trusting him.

It was about...not hurting him? At least on Mack's side?

"I know very clearly that you're choosing to stand by me throughout this," Mack said carefully, one hand on the doorknob. "And I am so very grateful. But you can't be there for everything. It's just unrealistic and I didn't want to pressure you."

With that, she opened the door and walked inside.

Neave, about to follow, smiled gently at Scott. "Keep trying," she said. "And keep on in your investigation of Mr. Jennings. We need everything you can get on him, and we know there's a lot."

She moved inside, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Scott melted into his chair, legs suddenly weak.

The stress ball appeared again in his hands, tossed from tense, long fingers to the other hand, clenched in fists for a brief moment before repeating the catch.

He did paperwork on the druggie's arrest, kept an eye on the conference room door, and then heaved a sigh, going to the yellow legal pad he had on notes for the Jennings investigation.

There was one from a while ago, that he'd never crossed out; had purposefully been avoiding because something (that was probably pride but Scott didn't want to admit that) was stopping him.

Talk to Chase. Ask him to be a character witness for Mack.

There was a very visceral no in his chest at the very thought. First of all, fuck no, why did she even need character witnesses, as if she was the one on trial?

And second of all…

Scott didn't want to see Chase redeemed; he wanted to remember him as a jerk. He didn't want to think of the man that Mack had dated as human, because he wanted to be the only guy he could see Mack dating.

It was pride.

Scott threw it down and grabbed the keys to his squad car; Ned looked up in surprise. "Where the hell are you going?" He asked.

"I have someone to talk to," Scott said, his eyes darting, along with Ned's, to the conference room.

She might need someone to talk to when it's over, he could read Ned's mind.

But if Mack wasn't going to let him in...he couldn't always be there for her if she was still shutting him out of some parts. And that was healthy for both of them.

He wasn't sure he could handle that moment again, of her thinking he wasn't committed to this, of taking him so for granted that she'd planned on not telling him something so fucking vital.

She'd doubted him.

And that had been such a blow.

Scott took the keys and strode from the station.

Hell yes he wanted to rescue her, be her knight in shining armor.

But at this point, he'd settle for being her knight's armor bearer. He had no idea who the knight was; Neave? Possibly. But if she wouldn't let it be him, he was going to do his utter best to get this thing over and done with anyway.

There was no other choice. He loved her. He loved her with every beat of his aching heart.

* * *

Mackenzie sat for a moment in the conference room after Preston and his lawyers had exited, feeling shaken. She bit back a small moan as the same pain from earlier came and went; they were just false contractions, her dad had warned her about these.

"So," Neave said, clearing her throat. "Still confident?"

"It was hard, in the face of those questions," Mack admitted. "And I hate that second lawyer of his, but I got past it."

She bit her lip, conveniently slipping past the fact that it was the thought of Scott and Freya that had kept her calm. The thought of talking to Scott after this, drawing comfort from him, and the knowledge that letting herself get too stressed could be bad for her daughter.

She'd kept calm.

She couldn't say that there wasn't something about Preston that didn't still terrify her, but he'd lost some of his power over her.

She'd looked him in the eyes today. She hadn't flinched. She'd told the truth, and the whole goddamn truth.

And he'd been the one to look away.

She stood up, again pushing past a discomfort in her lower abdomen.

"We'll be fine, the hearing on this will be on Monday," Neave said. "And I'll bet a lot of things that it never gets past it."

"Okay," Mackenzie said. "I trust you."

Neave smiled, a little saucily. "You should," she said. "Even if I'm a subpar mother at times, I'm a kickass lawyer."

"You aren't a bad mother," Mackenzie protested.

"Honey, you should see me in a kitchen," Neave chuckled. "And well, that's why David's father left me."

Mack remembered the few times she'd seen Neave with her son; how he carried his father's fine Mexican heritage, showing almost none of his mother.

'I don't think that's why," Mack said, as Neave gathered her papers together.

"Why do you think then?" Neave said.

"I think he wasn't man enough for you, and he could see that too," Mack began, knowing before she finished the words that she was wrong.

But Neave was laughing off the pain; yet Mack could see that the words pained her.

"He was man enough," she said. "Don't worry about it, he's far in the past, Mackenzie." She smiled warmly. "I'll see you Monday. Now go find that officer of yours and tell him that he can stop worrying."

"He's not mine," Mack said lamely but Neave had already slipped from the room, leaving the door ajar.

Mackenzie followed her, seeing the way some of the officers in the station turned to watch the woman leave. "Neave," she called, and her lawyer spun around.

"What?"

"If he's far in the past, stop letting him dictate your present," Mackenzie began slowly. "Why bring him up if he's in the past?"

Neave laughed out loud. "When there are kids involved, it's never actually buried," she said. "Just when you think it's over and done with, there are more swimming lessons to pay for and who foots the bill? Not to mention, oh god, David's turning eighteen next year. I don't even want to begin the arguments over who pays for college but we're already two petitions in."

"There's something that you aren't saying," Mackenzie said. "And considering that you know more about me than most women know about their daughters at this point, let me in a little."

Neave considered her for a moment, gaze hard and all warmth vanished. "What's your real reason behind not telling Scott everything?" She said fiercely, stepping forward, voice lowering. "You have feelings for him and didn't want him hurt. What's my reason for not letting this whole thing stay in the past?"

She breathed out. "I have...feelings for him. Stray feelings that I regret but oh god, does the heart want what it wants and no, Miss Clancy, it's not time for me to start dating again." She breathed in, her gaze icy. "Just because he's forgotten doesn't mean that I have."

The moment was gone. Mackenzie, startled, took a step back and Neave reached out to take her arm, rubbing up and down for a second. "I'm sorry," she said. "You hit a sore spot I didn't even think I had anymore."

Mack stood in the lobby for a moment after Neave had left, holding her arms to herself. She wanted to find Scott.

She didn't want to be like Neave, still in love with a guy who'd been gone for ages...she had to try, especially because she'd seen the look in his eyes.

He hadn't liked being pushed away. And she knew that he had every reason to react like that. Was it fair of her to hold things back? Surely he had the right to decide if he could handle it or not. This wasn't how people who wanted...to keep people in their lives should act.

She sighed and walked into the bullpen, her gaze zeroing in on one desk.

It was empty.

She felt a hand land on her shoulder, turned around with such excitement, and then it was Ned, smiling at her. "Need a ride home, Kenz?" He asked, voice too sympathetic.

"Did Scott…" She couldn't even finish the question.

"He left," Ned said simply, and Mack nodded, dumbly following Ned out of the station.

She felt her stomach clench again, and ignored the pain.

It was far too early for Freya to be coming. This was just the stress.

* * *

Chase hopped down from the ladder when Scott got out of the car. He was such a...physical man, Scott reflected. Being an electrician, most of his job was field work. He wasn't bulky, but he had the build of someone who did hard work for a living and felt it.

Scott didn't like Chase.

This fact was foremost in his mind as he approached him.

"Oh, it's you," Chase said, pausing before he reached Scott. "I thought it was someone here on official police business but you'll be here about Mack."

"Yeah," Scott admitted, taking his sunglasses off. "Maybe you've seen this coming."

"It's how these trials work," Chase sighed. "Which I don't like but what can you do?" He bit his lip. "Will she need it? For me to be there, say those things?"

"It would help," Scott said. "Tell them just how much she'd never seduce her teacher. That you two were in a committed, healthy relationship. That she wasn't a party girl, never acted irresponsibly."

"I'd never call what we had healthy," Chase mumbled, his gaze far on the horizon, lost in a memory that Scott was glad he couldn't see. "Happy, once. Beautiful, maybe. But there was too much compromise and still never enough." He sighed. "We could never reach far enough."

Scott bit back a feeling of sympathy for Chase, for the fact that he, Scott, could very well be in the same position right now. The feeling that he could never reach Mack was rising, the fear that he'd never be able to actually rescue her was choking him.

Because she had to rescue herself, yes.

But she had to let him in.

She had to fucking let him in if their relationship, if whatever this thing was between them, was to grow fruit.

And he wanted it to grow. He wanted forever with Mackenzie Clancy.

But it still seemed like any sort of ever was something that she wasn't willing or able to give.

* * *

It was the end of a long day. Jim got home just as Ned's work car pulled into the driveway, and he raised an eyebrow; another one when Ned helped Mack out of the front seat.

"What's happening here?" He questioned, hurrying over to his daughter out of instinct, holding out an arm for her to take.

Which she did, leaning on him a little more than her independence usually allowed.

"Hi, daddy," she whispered, and he was also surprised at the vulnerability in her words.

What had happened?

He knew about the summons; Mackenzie had fought hard to go to the station alone, and he and Melinda had let her because...well...it's not like they could make that decision for her anymore. And them accompanying her before had technically been her letting them go.

So.

They'd stayed back. Melinda had worried and here Ned was and so things hadn't gone well.

Jim hated this situation so much.

"What happened today?"

"It was fine," Mackenzie said briefly, succinctly. "Neave was there, she batted off Preston's lawyers like they were flies and it was kind of amazing to watch. If it had been a TV show...I would have been so impressed. As it was, I was still a little stunned." She bit her lip. "To hear those words come off of anyone's lips...and he wasn't pulling punches…"

Jim didn't like how she'd devolved into vague terms, obviously wanting to hide things now; forget them. Damn it.

"And Scott...wasn't there," she finished. "And...I'd wanted him to be."

"Well, he must have been busy," Jim said, looking at Ned, and meeting Ned's gaze. Ned just shrugged, glancing away.

No.

Scott had been Mack's constant. Jim had a brief moment of fear that Scott wasn't all in anymore; and then he looked at Mack, remembered just how hard she'd been pushing people away lately.

No.

There was no way she could push that hard that Scott would actually leave. Was there?

"I have to go, Katie is holding dinner," Ned said. "I hope you feel better, Mack. Tell your dad about those pains."

"What?" Jim asked, as soon as Ned was gone, jogging down the steps.

"It's nothing," Mackenzie said, rolling her eyes. "It's just Brandon Hicks or whatever."

"Braxton," Jim said, correcting it without even thinking about it. "We should still take a look."

"I don't want to," Mack said. "I want to go to bed and maybe eat ice cream. It wasn't...it wasn't a good day. Not even because of the summons. It just...I got out of bed the wrong side, you know? It just sucked."

"I'm sorry," Jim said, pulling her closer and pressing a kiss to her forehead as they opened the front door.

Melinda was already walking towards it, perhaps had seen them through the windows and had grown impatient of puzzling out why they weren't inside yet. "Hey," she greeted, pulling Mack, stomach and all, into a hug before kissing Jim hello.

He kissed her hello back, feeling like he could tell how her day had been just from how it was; tired, definitely not as passionate as usual, but actively seeking a little more comfort than normal, lingering in the embrace, taking more from his arms than his lips.

He could read his wife like a book.

If only reading his daughter was as easy.

* * *

He was always the last man in the station.

Granted, the station was just big enough that it was never empty, but of the officers on days, Chief Joshua LeTrai was always the last one to leave.

Something he was thankful for when the door outside opened and he glanced up, expecting to see a harried and impatient father towing his kid in, and instead it was his wife.

Alice.

He'd never thought he'd had a wife, he reflected. He'd always expected to be the permanent bachelor, but here she was, soft and luscious, her curvy body dressed in that light blue sweater he loved, and the fitted black skirt that made his mind go to dangerous places.

She always dressed so nicely for work. It was one of the reasons that he'd fallen for her in the first place; not because of the clothes, per se, but because of the type of woman you had to be to still wear them in this day and age.

He liked old souls.

They didn't even say hello; Josh was pulling her into his arms, holding her close, feeling her heartbeat press against his chest, and splaying his hands over her back.

"Bad day?" Alice was asking, tilting her head up. Her lips were plump, her eyes were sympathetic.

"Long," he whispered. "Really fucking long."

He lowered his mouth to hers, loving this moment when they finally tasted each other after, what, at least twelve hours of being apart.

She tasted like strawberries.

What on earth had she been eating?

His arms were pulling tighter, and he moaned as her teeth nipped at his lower lip.

He wanted her so badly. He wanted to erase this day from memory and goddammit, his office was right there. He had no reason to wait.

And then the door banged open, and he felt Alice trying to jump away from him; she didn't like PDA, she was shy.

He held on; he let them part, but slowly, not letting himself be ashamed of kissing his wife in the station.

And it was Scott, looking slightly downcast.

"Hey, where did you go?" Josh asked. "I feel like Ned and Mack were looking for you."

Scott's gaze was a bit distant; so much so that Josh felt uncomfortable. He hadn't seen Scott like that since the days after that bank shooting that had ended so badly.

"Isn't that the thing?" Scott said softly. "She's always looking. Even though she's found it."

He walked past into the bullpen, effectively ending the conversation.

And Josh? He heaved a sigh, took his wife's arm and led her from the station.

They'd make love at home.


	9. Chapter 9: GhostWhispererFangirl

**A/N: I'm about to like put a bunch of word vomit down below, I swear lol. Enjoy xx GhostWhispererFangirl**

* * *

Mackenzie had been officially put on bed rest until further notice, and she didn't like it.

She didn't like lying bed, even if it was great to just stay snuggled up in bed all day. It only sucked when there was nothing on tv or when she finished reading that book for the third time, but didn't have the energy to get up and grab a new one or call for someone to get her one.

The only good part about being in bed right now was avoiding the trail and it's inevitable ruling.

She knew nothing good would come out of this, even if she hoped and dreamed that Preston Jennings would get what he deserved, and dreaming sounded like a good idea right now because in her dreams she could be with him.

Nothing stood in her way of being with Scott, not her broken heart or logic and reason. Nothing stood in their way.

She could kiss him and he would kiss her back, telling her how he'd waited for her to just let him in and was so glad she finally did. But that was just a dream. She didn't know how to tell Scott about what she felt every time she saw him or how her knees would go weak when he looked at her.

It crossed her mind as she tossed the remote into the comforter and she looked at her phone.

It was half past six. He should be done working by now.

She reached for her cell phone and pulled up his number, her finger looming over the call and text icon.

Should she just text him? Would a call make her seem more desperate?

Her gut lurched and she pressed the call icon and put the phone to her ear. All she had to do now was not mess this up.

* * *

Scott sat in the driver's seat of squad car with Ned to his right, both intently watching someone inside a diner eat a burger and fries.

"How are you and Katie?" Scott asked as he picked at the onion rings and popped one in his mouth.

"We're good," Ned resituated himself in his seat as he bit into his egg salad sandwich. "Better than good. We're great."

"That's good," Scott answered. "She looked stressed when I saw her yesterday."

"She's just upset that she's not getting pregnant," Ned admitted. "And is going a bit stir crazy and has me on this supplement to make my... my sperm higher and I'm on some red meat and fast food cleanse."

"So that's why you have bag lunches and dinners and I'm the one stuffing my face with onion rings," he laughed.

"Yeah," Ned replied and reached for his travel mug.

"Can I have a sip of that? My throat is dry," he said as he put the car into drive as the guy left the diner, and followed him with safe distance.

"You don't want what's in here," Ned replied quickly. "It's some sort of veggie juice that's supposed to make me have more energy for when I'm home."

"For your husbandly duties, got it." He laughed. "She's got you wrapped around her finger dude."

"I love her," Ned said and finished off his sandwich. "And getting to make my wife scream her lungs out every day is the least of my worries. I'm just worried that this could really be on me this time."

"What do you mean?" He asked, taking a back road to keep this guy from knowing he's being watched by the cops.

"Most people think it's the girl's fault for why she isn't getting pregnant, but what if it's me? Fuck, what if our problems right now are all my fault?" Ned itched his head. "What if my boys are giving out on me?"

"I think you're just fine. You two are putting too much pressure on yourselves," he said shutting the headlights off as the guy ran inside a house. "The minute you two focus on something that isn't making a baby, it'll happen."

"What are you saying?" Ned asked as he parked.

"What I'm trying to say is that you should distract her," he explained, relaxing for a moment. "Take her mind off having a baby, even if it's only for an hour or two... just take her mind off all the stress and then have sex in the spur of the moment and maybe that will work."

"Maybe," Ned itched his jaw. "That's a good idea and I think I know what will do the trick."

"Oh yeah?" He asked.

"Definitely," Ned smiled. "Thanks man."

"Is it time for you to solve my problems now?" He laughed, tossing the last onion ring in his mouth.

"With Mackenzie?" Ned laughed. "That's on you man. You have to figure out if you're gonna have the patience to wait."

"Wait for what?" He sighed.

"Everything," Ned replied. "She's the tricky one and you just have to give her time."

"I'm sick of waiting," he muttered.

"Then do something about it," Ned answered as Scott's cell phone buzzed in the cup holder.

He reached for the phone and Mackenzie's name lit up the little bar on the top of his flip phone. He hadn't seen the need to get the newest phone like everybody else.

"It's her," he said.

"Maybe it's fate or some shit that Katie would say," Ned chuckled as it rang again. "Answer it."

He opened the phone and pressed it to his ear.

"Hey Mack," he grinned.

"Scott, you answered. After the third ring, I assumed you wouldn't answer." Mackenzie laughed uneasily. "If you're busy-"

"I'm not," he cut her off. "I'm not busy."

"Oh," Mackenzie replied. "Well then you wouldn't mind me asking for you to come over, would you?"

"Come over?" He asked. "I guess I could. I'd have to ask if I can cut out early."

"Say yes," Ned replied softly. "I don't care if we still have an hour left of this surveillance. I'll call LeTrai and he'll let us go early and then I can get my plan on the way too."

"Oh you don't have to do that for me," Mackenzie answered. "I just thought you'd be out of there by now."

He paused, looking ahead.

"I'm just surveilling a new suspect in a case," he explained. "I mean I could cutout early. I know Ned wouldn't mind getting home early."

"I shouldn't have called," she muttered. "I should've known you'd still be working. I'm sorry."

"Scott," Ned whispered. "You want to, just say yes already."

He looked at his partner and shrugged.

He did want too, but did she? Did she call because she wanted to hang out with him or because she was bored and no one else had answered?

"Scott?" She called out.

"How does a movie sound?" He suggested. "I could swing by the store and grab some treats too."

"That would be great," Mackenzie chirped. "That was too eager, wasn't it?"

"That was just the right amount of eagerness for me to get even more excited to see you," he replied. "I'll see you soon then?"

"Yes, see you." She replied. "Thanks Scott, I really appreciate you doing this."

"Always," he answered and went to turn the headlights on and pull away. "I shouldn't be too long."

"Okay," she sighed.

"Any new cravings I should know about?" He asked.

"No," she laughed. "Still the same old ones from before."

"Okay. Good to know," he laughed. "See you soon."

He held the phone to his ear for another second with a smiled and then put it down after she had hung up.

Ned had pulled out the CB and talked to LeTrai. He was too excited (or was it nervous?) to concentrate on the words that were said and he just drove to the station as quickly as he could.

"You have a good time with Kenz," Ned said as he pulled his truck keys off and walked toward the back lot for their cars.

"And you with Katie," he said as he locked the squad car and ran to his own car.

"I always do," Ned laughed. "I'll tell you tomorrow on patrol."

"Yeah, I know." He replied and slid inside his car.

Maybe he should get a truck, something more manly than his Sedan. He didn't have the money for that, he reminded himself and then pulled out of the lot, driving off toward his apartment.

He ran inside, not even bothering to shut his car off because there was no chance of it getting stolen with the two seconds he'd be inside grabbing a movie and quickly changing. He threw on a pair of jeans and tugged his uniform over his head, pulling on some band tee and crouching down to look at his movie selection below his tv.

There wasn't much, but he chose something that he hadn't watched in a while and ran back out the door and hopping in his car.

He couldn't wait to get there.

Maybe it was because it had been two weeks since she'd been around, or because he'd heard she was on bed rest until further notice because of the baby.

Freya, her daughter.

There had been talk about the trial putting too much stress on Mackenzie and then the baby, and Jim had reassured that he make sure everything would be okay, like he always did. She'd stopped coming around and word traveled from Katie that she'd be home bound until she got enough rest. She'd most likely not even be at the trial in person for the most part, too much stress.

The official word right now was that she'd only be there for her testimony, but that could change. Anything could.

And right now the next thing on his mind was to get snacks and he was quick about that, grabbing the green tea he knew she liked and a water for himself, along some chocolates and cheetos.

She loved cheetos.

* * *

Should he just walk in? Or should he knock?

Scott parked and grabbed the bag of stuff, making sure the turn his headlights off and lock his car before crossing the street.

Jim's truck was in the driveway behind Melinda's jeep and there was another car too, something a bit more suiting for a new teen driver, but not something that would be Lana's because she'd have something a bit newer.

Or at least Scott assumed she would, if she even drove her own car by now. Did she?

Scott knocked and the door flew open and there was Melinda.

"Oh, hi Scott." Melinda smiled. "Are you here for Mackenzie?"

"Yeah, she called." Scott muttered, itching the back of his neck uneasily. "Something about wanting company and I brought some snacks and a movie."

"Come in," Melinda ushered him inside and looked back at Jim for a second. "She's upstairs. You know which room."

"I do," Scott smiled. "Thanks."

Scott kicked off his boots and went to the stairs as Jim made it to his wife as they watched him disappear around the landing.

"Do you think it's a date?" Melinda asked. "I hope it's a date."

"Maybe," Jim admitted. "I think it's something more than what she'd admit."

"I hope so," she sighed. "She deserves it.

"They both do," he replied.

"Yeah, come on. Let's finish the dishes," Melinda kissed his shoulder hand and pulled him with her .

"Oh fine," he muttered. "But only to take my mind off what Lana is probably doing upstairs."

"Don't you mean who she's doing upstairs?" Melinda laughed. "I recall hearing a playful giggled as she pulled him upstairs."

"Should I worry?" He asked, letting his hands sink into the sudsy water.

"No," she replied. "Lana is more than capable of taking care of herself. Plus the kid looked like he'd never been outside a library."

"Derek, she said his name was Derek. Something about him being an honor student." He cleared his throat as he grabbed the rag and then passed her a plate to rinse.

"Let go," she said giving a soft tug on the plate. "Before you break the plate."

"Sorry," he said and began cleaning the next one.

"Take a breath," she laughed. "She's fine." Footsteps followed Melinda's calm words and Lana appeared, looking rather pleased with herself and a wild ponytail. "Having fun up there with… what's his name again Jim?"

"Derek," he answered as if on cue as he passed a plate.

"Yes, are you having fun with Derek?" She asked, rising and drying the plate as she faced their teenage daughter.

"I am," Lana smiled, slipping past her parents to open the fridge and grab a water bottle.

"Too much information," he muttered.

"That's not enough information for me," she replied, shushing Jim and rinsing another plate. "We'll talk later once Derek leaves."

"Okay," Lana replied and untwisted the cap, taking a sip before closing it. "This has been fun, but… I have to finish something." She reopened the fridge, quickly grabbing the bottle of whipped cream and dashing up the stairs before Jim could stop her. "Talk later!"

Jim just stared at his wife with an open mouth and she just shook her head and laughed, her own ponytail waving from side to side as she grabbed the next plate from him and rinsed it.

* * *

Scott laid besides Mackenzie as the movie credits rolled and he watched her finish off the last cheeto with an orange smile.

"What?" She covered her mouth as she chewed and looked at him.

"You're just-" He breathed, feeling the pull to her grow as he inched close to her cheese dust coated lips.

His eyes zoned on the freckle below her bottom lip as she licked the dust from her lips.

"I'm what?" She asked, pulling his attention back her eyes that searched his for the answer.

"Nothing," he muttered and looked back at the tv. "The movie is over."

"It is," she said. "We could watch another… there is a big selection downstairs."

"Are you sure?" He asked. "It is getting kind of late."

"It's only eight twenty three," she replied. "Do you have plans?"

"No," he whispered.

"Good," she breathed.

She smiled, gently, so that her teeth barely show, softly. He would drop to his knees at that sight, her name etched inside of his eyes. For she was all he saw.

"I'll go get that movie then," he said suddenly, breaking the silence as he rolled off the bed.

"Okay," she replied.

He left the room quickly, leaving the door ajar as he disappeared down the stairs.

She laid her head back on the pillow and clutched her stomach.

"I know," she whispered to herself. "Mommy is an idiot." Her daughter kicked again and he opened her eyes. "I should just tell him. I know he feels the same, I can feel it in the way he looks at me. It's just so hard…"

"What's hard?" He asked as he entered the room again, closing the door behind him.

"Oh nothing," she laughed uneasily as she pulled herself back into a better position to see him. "I was just talking to Freya. She's kicking."

"That's cute," he grinned and held up two cases. "I couldn't choose, so I brought both."

"The Little Mermaid and Sleeping Beauty." She read the titles. "My vote is for the Little Mermaid. It was favorite as a kid."

"The Little Mermaid it is," he said.

"First we watch Toy Story and now this? I like your style O'Neill." She laughed. "Even if some would say it's childish."

He grinned back at her as she switched the DVDs and then slid back under the blanket with her

"I'm an animated film kind of guy," he admitted.

"I can see that," she laughed. "I like it."

He blushed and laid his hand on her stomach just as Freya kicked again.

"She does too?" He asked.

"Yeah, she does." She replied. "She likes your voice."

"You're just saying that," he muttered, rubbing her belly softly as the little girl kicked again.

"I think she begs to differ," she laughed. "She's always active when you're around, which I think has to do with how much I adore your company, but that's only a hunch."

"Well I hoped you enjoyed me at least a little," he admitted. "But I'd always hoped we'd be more one day."

Did he just say that out loud?

He cursed himself as he tried to remain calm externally.

"I hope for that too," she whispered. "But it's complicated Scott. I don't want to start something and have the trial ruin it. Or a newborn baby change things, which it would."

"Nothing I can't handle," he replied.

"Well maybe we can go on another date when my dad lets me leave the house next week?" She suggested. "But only if you're up for it."

His grin widened and he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his for something simple. A way to calm her down and reassure her that he had always felt for her as much as he had in the beginning.

"That's reassuring, but I think we'll have to put that date on hold for a bit… I know I was the one who suggested," she whispered, touching his face and then pulling away. "But can you go get my parents?"

"Why?" He asked, licking the cherry chapstick from his lips and smiling.

"I think my water just broke," she muttered and touched her stomach.


	10. Chapter 10: Collaboration

**A/N: Some flashbacks. The moments that Scott relives when Mack's water breaks. The best...and the worst. ~ Meowser**

 **The flashbacks were written by Meowser and are in italics, while the scenes of Mack in labor and with Freya are written by me, GhostWhispererFangirl :) Enjoy! xx Mariah**

* * *

 _Scott breathed in, feeling everything go off kilter._

 _He remembered a lot of mundane details in that moment; how last night, he'd forgotten to turn off the a/c and had woken up freezing._

 _He remembered that Mackenzie had cancelled two days ago, but she kept calling, asking to make it up._

 _But he'd been stressed. He'd forgotten to get back to her._

 _And now…now…_

 _This moment. Ned clutching at his leg, and the anguished scream of Pete, watching as the life drained from his wife's eyes._

 _Scott jumped forward, knocking the weapon from the attacker's hands, but the damage had been done._

 _The other officers were taking over; everyone was panicked and shouting and Scott moved towards his partner's side._

 _Ned's eyes were closed tight against the pain, but he opened them when he sensed Scott's presence. "I'm okay," he managed. "Get help for Hadley."_

 _"It's too late for Hadley," Scott muttered, putting pressure on Ned's leg, making the older man hiss._

 _"Fuck," Ned managed._

 _"This is my fault," Scott said, not even fully cognizant of the fact that he was speaking._

 _"No," Ned said. "It's his fault. He's the one with the gun. We just tried to contain it."_

 _"But I'm the one who lost it," Scott said, ripping his dress shirt off to tie around Ned's leg. He had no fucking clue what he was doing, but knew that he had to create pressure._

 _When the medics arrived, they'd probably undo all of his work, and he was probably just creating more work for them, but he only knew that he had to be doing something right now._

 _"It's not your fault, and anyone might have done it," Ned panted._

 _"But anyone didn't," Scott said, feeling emotions and bile rise in his throat. "I did."_

* * *

Scott thought he'd experienced an adrenaline rush before, but he was wrong. He could feel his heart pounding, and suddenly everything felt very warm, especially around his neck. He ran down the stairs to see Jim and Melinda comfortably seated by the fire, sharing a bottle of wine as they kissed.

"Mackenzie's in labor," he said loudly, breaking their moment.

"What?" Melinda said as Jim was already on his feet and halfway to the stairs.

"Just come up," he said and ran up the stairs.

He could hear Mackenzie breathing raggedly from the landing and the second he had a grip on the railing he jumped three stairs and rushed toward her. He caught her by her upper arms, making eye contact with her. She gripped his elbows, knuckles turning white, taking deep shaking breaths.

"I can't grab it," she whispered and he grabbed the bag near his feet and slung it over his shoulder.

"She won't change what I feel," he said simply. "I'll be there for you every day, if you want."

"What I want is for her to have a father," she replied.

"I can be that," he said.

"Scott," she inhaled harshly and her face turned red. "Don't make promises you don't know if you can keep."

"You can talk more at the hospital," Jim said clapping a hand on Scott's back softly and picking Mackenzie up into his arms. "Let's go baby."

"Okay," she nodded, breathing heavily.

He stood there as Jim disappeared down the stairs and Melinda went to Lana's room to give her the details. Emma had been alerted also, and both of them had been through other siblings having children, so it wasn't a big task to stay home while mom and dad left.

Scott on the other hand was not in his element. He had never even been around a pregnant person who he knew before Katie had Willow and he definitely wasn't there for that process.

"Come on newbie," Melinda said rubbing his back. "You'll be just fine."

He tried to smile, shrug, make any sort of human interaction with her, but all that came out was a head nod and a slight eyebrow raise.

He was awkward, more awkward than anyone.

* * *

 _The phone rang; once, twice, a third time._

 _Scott didn't even check the caller ID. He didn't have to; he knew who it was._

 _Mackenzie._

 _He knew it was her, like he knew that it was his fault that Hadley was dead._

 _And he also knew that he couldn't afford to talk to her._

 _It had been a week since the incident; he hadn't seen Mackenzie once. She'd come by, too. Carrying a pot of soup, like all he had was a cold. She'd knocked on his apartment door, stood outside for what seemed like centuries, waiting for him to open up._

 _He never had._

 _She'd left after hour four, promising to be back the next day._

 _She'd left the soup._

 _For all he knew, it was still there, but he doubted it; she'd probably taken it with her when she came back, this time with her mother in tow._

 _Thankfully, though the Clancy women were very talented, their talents didn't—yet—extend to lock picking._

 _Scott had waited them out, like he'd waited out Mackenzie when she'd been alone._

 _It took a week before she gave up._

 _Today was the first day she hadn't come by, and it was close to midnight._

 _Would the day really pass without her coming by?_

 _It hurt Scott's heart to think of her giving up on him, but it also made a selfish, scared part of him very relieved._

 _It meant there was no more pressure._

 _It meant he didn't have to worry about someone else dying on him too._

* * *

Everything started moving very quickly, in some kind of blur. Melinda drove while Jim talked on the phone to who he needed to and Scott sat with Mackenzie in the back. She was clutching his hand tightly, so tightly he had lost feeling in his fingers blocks prior. She squeezed his hand harder and screamed in pain.

"I can't do this," she cried out and although he already felt like he could make his grip no harder, he did his best to squeeze back.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, you can."

"No, I can't." She sobbed.

"Mackenzie," he warned. "Yes, you can."

He watched a grin spread across her face, and without thinking, he leaned forward, catching her lips against his own. She pressed back momentarily, and seemed speechless as he pulled back.

"That helped," she nodded.

"Good," he said.

Melinda swung into the hospital's emergency entrance and Jim hopped out as staff ran out.

"How far apart are her contractions?" The obstetrician, Dr. Kimberly, asked.

"About eight minutes and they last about the six minutes," he explained.

Dr. Kimberly had been there since the first check-up. The confirmation. She'd confirmed the gender, prescribed vitamins and soothed each of her worries.

"Wait," Dr. Kimberly said and stepped forward as Scott moved out. "Get a gurney, a wheelchair isn't enough. She's bleeding."

The staff ran to grab one and Scott helped Mackenzie out of the car.

Everyone glanced down and saw, she's right. Blood was beginning to stain the inner part of Mackenzie thighs because she was wearing such small black shorts to keep cool with the heatwave this June.

"We might possibly need to do an emergency C-section," Dr. Kimberly says, not looking at Mackenzie as the gurney wheeled up.

Her eyes were focused on Jim. Her father. "No," Mackenzie gasped, clinging to Scott's hand, teeth gritted. "Daddy, please. Don't let them." Jim moved forward, helping Scott get her on the gurney. "She's not ready. I'm not... ready."

"Mackenzie, this isn't a discussion. She's coming." Jim said. "She's decided you're going to be a mother tonight, so you're going to be a mother tonight." Her heart constricted. "I know you wanted to do this the way you wanted, but it may have to go another way for not only your health, but your daughters."

Mackenzie's teeth were gritted firmly and she grasped Scott's hand so tightly he cried out with sound, and she didn't answer.

"She's having another contraction." Dr. Kimberly informed everyone as she watched Mackenzie's movements. "If we let this go for too long, her placenta will tear and she'll bleed out within the hour. We need to do this now!"

Jim nodded and they began to push the gurney, with the help of the Scott and the orderly who brought it up. Melinda followed while she was on the phone updating Kate on everything she needed to know.

"Alright, Mack," Jim said, talking calmly. "This is an emergency situation. It's going to be a little different than a regular C-section." She doesn't answer, but in took a sharp breath and nodded. "They're going to have to put you under anesthesia. You won't feel anything, and you'll wake up in a few hours, with a wonderful baby waiting for you." She reached her hand out toward him and he grabbed it. "I'll be there in the room, watching over every single step. It's gonna be okay."

"I know," she whispered back. "You need to listen to me though." He squeezed her fingers. "Stay with her." He nodded, mouth opening slightly. "Say it."

"Every step of the way," he said. She seemed to let out a breath, her muscles relaxed and she nodded. "She'll be here in fifteen minutes. It won't even be that long." They reached two doors the gurney stops just as the doors open automatically. "This is as far as you two can go."

Jim looked back at his wife, she'd just ended the phone call and looked at him with a displeased look. There's nothing else she needed to say. She wanted to be there, and she knew she couldn't. Disappointment.

He bent down and kissed her tenderly, letting her anger be swept aside for the moment, before moving for her to get to see Mackenzie.

"You're going to be fine. Your father is going to look over you," Melinda reassured herself before kissing Mackenzie's forehead. "And you," she touched her plump stomach and then smiled at her daughter. "Look at you, all grown up." She moved Mackenzie's braid over her shoulder and touched her face. "I love you so much."

"I love you too, mom." She smiled and then whispered in her ear softly, something that she wanted to be a secret between. "Promise?"

"Promise," Melinda winked and then turned to Jim, kissing him again. "Love you," she whispered against his lips.

"Don't be afraid Mackenzie," Scott said comfortingly, squeezing her hand and kissing her cheek. "You'll wake up in an hour and the first thing you'll see is her."

"We don't have time," Dr. Kimberly snapped. "She's contracting."

The woman pushed the gurney forward. He remained in place, and her fingers slipped from his grasp as she moved into an operating room. Jim hesitated, kissing Melinda again before following them into the door.

"I'll be out soon to update you," he told them, before closing the door. with his badge.

He stood dumbstruck, watching as the doors closed. He couldn't make out anything going on beyond them though. He never believed he'd be at this moment.

Even earlier, the pregnancy felt more like a novelty, an idea or a concept, not a reality. But in less than twenty minutes, Freya would be in this world. The rushing feeling coursing through his body, could either be nerves or excitement. He couldn't tell. It might very well be both. He stood rooted to the spot outside the operating rooms, counting his heartbeats, as if that will make time go faster.

"Come on," Melinda looped her arm around Scott's. "We've got time to kill."

* * *

 _Mackenzie went away to college; maybe there was a small part of her that was giving up on him, or maybe this was just part of the plan all along._

 _Scott returned to work; had many reevaluations so that everyone could make sure he was actually ready to be back in the field._

 _Even so, LeTrai was placing harsh restrictions on him, making sure he wasn't going to be doing anything half as stressful as a hostage situation anytime soon._

 _He was stuck filling the goddamn coffeepot for what seemed like centuries. And then one day Ned's new partner, the guy who'd briefly replaced Scott, called in sick._

 _Scott got into a squad car with Ned for the first time in what seemed like a whole millennium, his hands clutching the wheel. Ned was glancing out the window, pretending that this was no big deal, but Scott could feel the other man's eyes on him, every few seconds, just darting back to check on him. To make sure that Scott hadn't lost it yet._

 _Or that was how Scott took it._

 _Unbeknownst to him, Ned's thoughts were more along the lines of how mind blowing it was to have Scott back. How amazing it was. How he'd thought to never again be driving with Scott O'Neill, watching the other man's eyes dart about his surroundings, not missing a thing. How his hands clutching at the steering wheel, not light handed the way Ned was._

 _How he had complete confidence in Scott when the other man drove. How he knew he could always depend on Scott to get them to the right place._

 _How very much he'd missed this. How very much he'd missed working alongside someone he had total and complete trust in._

 _How very much he'd missed Scott._

 _Katie listened to an abbreviated version of these thoughts later, her eyes and face softening, her hands gently moving over Ned's face and shoulders, making a sound like an injured doe to realize just how much Ned had missed having Scott as a partner._

 _"Oh, Ned," she breathed, and that was it. No more talking that evening._

* * *

An hour later, the door finally opened and Jim walked through in his red scrubs. His muscles and joints ache from sitting in the same position for so long. He didn't even register that Jim was standing there at first. Jim smiled though, as his eyes slide in and out of focus, looking for his face as he then went to rub his eyes.

"Where's Melinda?" Jim asked, ripping the scrub mask off and throwing it away.

"Coffee," he yawned. "Katie called, for the third time."

"Is there any news?" Katie walked with purpose through another door with Melinda.

"Nine pounds," Jim said triumphantly. "On the nose. She's perfectly healthy and beautiful. Mackenzie is being moved to a recovery room as we speak."

"Really?" Melinda gasped.

Jim just smiled as the doors opened again and a woman came out, pushing a small cart in front of her. Dr. Kimberly was careful with her steps and wore a large smile.

"Mackenzie did great," Dr. Kimberly explained. "Isn't she beautiful?"

They all heard the smallest, large cry they'd ever heard. It was the kind of loud cry that could only come from little lungs, taking their first few breaths. Scott moved forward, like he was on autopilot, looking down.

"Are you the father?" Dr. Kimberly asked. "I don't believe we've met before."

Katie stepped forward from where she was and rubbed his back before looking up at him.

She had red skin and looked tiny, considering how big Mackenzie was at the end. Her eyes were closed but her legs were flailing up in the air, as she kicked desperately. They had her half wrapped in a pink blanket. Her tiny fists, moved wildly about and around her body. It was like she was fighting the air and rejecting the sudden cold of the world around her. His eyes moved to her face. It's chubby with Mackenzie's nose and thin lips. The hair on her head was blonde, a small wisp of a curl went around her ears.

"You have to make your decision now," Katie replied, softly. "You can't play games with a child in the picture now. It will only confuse her."

"I was never-" He muttered, looking over at her.

"Scott," Katie warned. "You know what I mean by games. It's been these last eight months of you and Mackenzie being hot and cold, hot and cold, and hot and cold. You're either going to be with her or you're not. You need to choose, for the sake of this little girl's heart."

"Let me just take her vitals and do a few tests and then you can hold her if you'd like," Dr. Kimberly told him, pushing the carried toward another door just down the hall.

Jim met Melinda with a hug and they followed Katie and Scott.

Dr. Kimberly pulled out a stethoscope as they came to a stop. "Good news is, she has a healthy pair of lungs." Dr. Kimberly chuckled. "She hasn't opened her eyes yet. "There you are," Dr. Kimberly cooed to Freya as she picked her up. "There's Daddy."

"Oh, I'm-" He supported her head as Jim, Melinda and Katie looked on. She weighed practically nothing. Nine pounds was what Jim had said. How can anything so amazing be so small? "Hey Freya," he whispered. "Hello." She stopped crying and looked up at him.

"She's used to your voice," Katie smiled, stepping toward him. "Mackenzie said that."

"I'm Scott," he told her softly. "And you are Freya Clancy. You live in Grandview, with mom, grandma and grandpa. Auntie Lana and Emma live there too. Mom isn't here right now, but you know her. She's the one who kept you all safe and warm up till now." She lets out another coo as she kicked her little legs and stretched a little in his arms. Her eyelids just barely fluttered. "That's right." Her eyes flutter again. He held his breath as she slowly pried them open.

"Look who learned to open her eyes!" Katie gushed, and scooped her niece from Scott's arms. "Hello there Freya, I'm your Auntie Katie."

They didn't know what to expect for Freya's eyes, but as she opened them, he almost braced himself for the worst. Instead it's like he's looking in a mirror. Mackenzie's blue irises stared up at him, wide and wondering, taking in the world for the first time. Green pooled in around the edges, reminding him of the ocean and he smiled.

"She got that down quick," Jim commented as he walked over with Melinda.

"She has her mother's brain," Katie answered. "Your mama is smart as a whip. She's gonna be a nurse once she gets back on her feet an to her internship."

"Can I?" A smile spread wide across Melinda's face as she held open her arms.

"Of course," Katie passed Freya to her mother and then turned to Scott. "Have you thought about it?"

"About what?" He asked.

"Being her father?" Katie asked.

"In the beginning? No. I thought I had the worst chances of getting her back. It never even crossed my mind," he replied. "But lately, it's been on my mind. Today made me think of a time I didn't ever want to think about again."

"After the hostage situation," Katie pulled Scott aside and hugged him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Do you still blame yourself for that?"

"Some days I think about what could have happened if Ned hadn't been shot in just his leg." He answered.

"No," Katie pulled out her pointer finger and pushed it into his chest. "You are not going to talk like that. It was not your fault."

* * *

 _Days passed. Ned finally came by, on crutches, and had LeTrai physically force open the door to Scott's apartment._

 _They'd talked to him; lots of words were voiced by worried voices, words that entirely escaped Scott. He couldn't bring himself to put meaning to them. He just knew he saw their mouths moving and tried hard to block out the sound._

 _It's not your fault._

 _He heard those words, ringing between his ears, repeated numerous times._

 _It's not your fault._

 _He didn't believe them._

 _It would be a year before he did._

* * *

Mackenzie's room was soft. It has a light yellow wallpaper with a matching hospital bedspread. There were a few pictures of teddy bears on the wall, with yellow ribbons. She was lying in the bed, breathing on her own. The last time he'd seen Mackenzie in a hospital bed, was after the accident.

He could remember how his heart had broke when he saw her. She'd lost so much weight, looked so fragile and pale, bruises were scattered over her body and she had stitches across her forehead.

Today was much different. Today she looked radiant, refreshed, her hair fell down over her shoulder in a braid like before and the scar from those stitches before was nearly gone.

He sat in a comfy chair in the corner, looking down at Freya. She's awake, blue eyes staring back at me, with what he can best describe as quizzical interest. She's so full of expressions, and he thought the joy from watching her face shift into each one might consume him.

Everyone else had gone to update the family, change and refresh themselves.

Scott was in such a trance watching her; he didn't even notice the first cough. The second one though was louder and jolted him to look up. He got up slowly and made his way over to Mackenzie and sat near her. She coughed again, eyes still closed, but fluttering behind her lids. She slowly pried them open, blinking a couple times.

"Scott?" She sounded hoarse.

"Hi," he whispered. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," she answered. "Could you get me some water?"

"How sore?" He grabbed the mug of water the nurse had brought in just moments before, noting that she would be very thirsty when she woke up.

She waved her hands, eyes still unfocused, pulling herself up a little. "Don't worry about it. I've had worse." She coughed and took the mug. "How did everything go? Is she-" With one last large blink, her vision seemed to come back to her. They made eye contact and she smiled widely, reaching out a hand to him.

He grabbed it.

She pressed her lips together and he quickly situated her. There's a quiet choking noise.

He looked at her face and her eyes were welling up. She extended her hands, and very slowly, he transferred Freya to her arms. Once the child was fully out of his hands, he stepped back to give her the space she may need in this moment.

Her first moment with her daughter in her arms.

Her eyes filled with tears as she extended a finger to her daughter, putting it lightly in Freya's fist. Her little fingers closed around Mackenzie's larger one. She pressed her lips together again and took in a deep shaking breath.

"Freya Rose," she whispered. "Welcome to the world," she paused again, and closed her eyes. "I never thought I'd get here, not with all the obstacles in the way." He had almost reached for the door when she looked up. "Where you goin?"

"I didn't know if you wanted me to stay," he cleared his throat.

"Of course I do," she blushed. "I never stop thinking about you Scott, but I feel as though you're almost untouchable for me. I'd ruin you."

He buried his face in her hair to inhale, before lightly kissing her temple, silencing her sadness for this moment.

* * *

 _Scott saw pictures of Mackenzie on Ned's left open Facebook one day; Mack at college parties, dressed to the nines, hair done up, a huge smile on her face._

 _At least she was doing well._

 _She sent him a text, once, when she was coming home for a long weekend. She said she'd heard he was working again, back on the force. She'd heard that he was doing well; it made her happy._

 _She said she was coming home._

 _She asked if he wanted to meet up._

 _I'd like to see for myself how you are._

 _He didn't know how to reply. He didn't know that he was brave enough to see her. All he could think was that he was terrified that he'd disappoint her._

 _So he didn't reply._

 _And that was how he disappointed her the most._

 _She didn't try again after that. He'd seen her once, that long weekend, from a distance._

 _She was wearing shorts; her blonde hair was in a braid—he loved it when she braided her hair—and she was laughing at something Emma had said; her hand was clutching an ice cream cone and she'd looked out over the town square as she and her sister walked to her mother's shop._

 _Scott faded back into the shadows, pulling back, turning around and going back to the station. He spent the weekend half expecting her to show up at the station, ostensibly to see Ned, but really to check up on him. He spent the whole 72+ hours in tense expectation, just wondering and waiting to see how she'd show herself to him._

 _But she didn't. Not once._

 _And next thing he heard, she had a boyfriend. Tall and redheaded._

 _Scott said farewell to any hopes and dreams he'd once pinned on Mackenzie Clancy. He knew it was his fault; of course it was his fault, he'd done this to himself. He'd done it to them._

 _He'd ruined whatever chances their budding relationship had once had, yet it had never burned quite as much as the moment he saw a picture of Mackenzie with her new boyfriend; he was clinging to her, one long arm tight around her waist._

 _Goddamnit._

 _Scott hated this._

 _He would never admit it to anyone, but he wanted her back._

 _He went to dinner at the Clancy house; without even realizing it, he spent the whole evening asking about Mack, pretty much begging for details about her life. Her parents and sisters had humored him, not letting him know how clearly they saw through him. They'd been sympathetic; they'd let him know everything he needed, pleaded to hear._

 _And somehow, some way, more time passed._

 _He heard less news about Mack's life at college; but so, it seemed, did everyone else. Ned's brow started to crinkle when Scott mentioned Mack, as if he didn't know how to answer the question._

 _And gradually, Scott learned to not ask._

 _He shouldn't have stopped asking though; none of them should. They'd taken it as Mack just wanting space, but in truth, she'd been distancing herself from fear, from not knowing what to do. From needing someone to just push a little harder, she'd needed someone to make her break; break and tell people exactly what was going on._

 _But no one did. Everyone changed a little in college, everyone pulled away from their families, at least a little. You stopped telling your parents every little thing that happened; it was just a natural progression._

 _Or so everyone rationalized it._

 _There would come a day that everyone would wish they'd just pushed a little more. One more step._

 _As is always said on cheesy inspiration quotes, it's better to regret the things you've done than the ones you didn't do._

 _On a cold day in January, the Clancy family and their surrounding circle of friends, would learn just how true that was._

 _When the combination of ice and cars proved to be dangerous, nearly fatal, and Mackenzie Clancy first uttered these words out loud: I'm pregnant._


End file.
